“The Five things to do when disaster strikes.”
ARE YOU WILLING TO BE IN THE WILL OF GOD?
Part 1
When we face hard times!
My find and prayer partner Ben Bennett says:
“LORD KEEP ME IN YOUR WILL OR I’LL BE IN YOUR WAY”.
Sometimes being in His will put you right in the middle of a disaster.
We are going to see “The Five things to do when disaster strikes.”
And in this story, we see “The five stages of grief”
- Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
- Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
- Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”
- Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”
- Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what has happened.”
John 11:1-48 (NKJV) 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
(This does not happen until the next chapter)
The first stage of grief Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
Note the two different words for love here and in verse 4, Love = NT:5368 phileo (fil-eh’-o); from NT:5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling;; specifically, to kiss (as a mark of tenderness):
KJV – kiss, love.
(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
First things to do when disaster strikes.
- Prayer must be a priority. (John 11:1-3)
The first thing the sisters did was to send word to Jesus.
The one you love is sick. When a crisis hits our lives, be it a death, an accident, a diagnosis, a relationship breakdown, whatever it is… the first thing we need to do is to send word to Jesus.
When a crisis brings us to our knees, we are in perfect position to pray.
Prayer changes things. When we communicate with the creator of the universe, things happen. We call on the greatest power in the world. And yet too many times we lack the faith that prayer will make a difference. How do I know that? Because we do not pray until we have tried everything else. Instead of prayer being a last resort, it should be our first option.
Now the sisters could send word to Jesus because they had a close friendship relationship with Jesus. Had they not known Jesus; they would have been in an awful position with nowhere to turn.
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Love = NT:25 agapao (ag-ap-ah’-o); perhaps from agan (much) [or compare OT:5689]; to love (in a social or moral sense): NT:25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as NT:2309 and NT:1014, or as NT:2372 and NT:3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head)
KJV – (be-) love (-ed). Compare NT:5368.
(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
Second thing when disaster strikes
- Perseverance pays off. (John 11:6)
Do you think Jesus stayed where he was two more days because he didn’t care about Lazarus? No way. He stayed where he was because he knew that God was in control of the situation and at the right time God would take care of the crisis with Lazarus. When a crisis invades our lives we do not want to wait it out. We want it to end as soon as possible.
As Christians, when a crisis comes, we often look for the “fastest exits.” We want out of the trial or crisis just as soon as possible, and with the least amount of pain. Romans 5 tells us “We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, character hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”
Sometimes the only way out of a storm is to ride it out. Sometimes the only way out of a crisis is perseverance. One day Lazarus was alive, the next day he was dead, just four days later he was alive again. A lot can happen in a week. A lot can happen in three days, just ask Jesus.
The song says sometimes He calms the storms and sometimes He calms the believer and lets the storm rage on.
7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
You only have so much time;
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
He’s telling them that He is bring him back from the dead
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” 17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
“Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.
Jesus said he was dead and He was glad, WHY the same reason we go through things and that is “that you may believe.” It draws you closer to God and strengthen your walk for others to see Christ in you!!
Dr Charles Stanley says in his book “How to Handle Adversity” “Nothing speaks louder to an unsaved world than a Christian that suffers successfully.”
Just four days late, or was He?
Why was Jesus Late?
By Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg – December 9, 2017
In John’s gospel, readers were told that when Lazarus of Bethany was on his deathbed, Martha and Mary sent Jesus an urgent message alerting Him that they urgently needed His assistance. However, Jesus stayed where He was for two more days (11:6).
The name Lazarus is synonymous with the Hebrew, “Eliezer.” It means “my God is help.” Bethany in Hebrew means, “house of the poor,” which may cause us to think that the area where the family lived was dedicated to the ministry of mercy in the Judean region that Josephus refers to in Jewish Wars (2.124). The irony here is significant.
Jesus was at least one day’s journey away from Bethany (10:40). By the time the message reached him, Lazarus had already died (11:11). Jesus waited for two additional days, timing His arrival to take place exactly on the fourth day after Lazarus’ death (11:17). But why?
The answer may lie in a Jewish tradition that can be traced back to the time of Jesus. The soul of a deceased person was believed to linger behind, hovering over the dead body for three days, desperately trying to get back inside the body.
“Berei and R. Pappi, R. Joshua of Sikhnin in the name of R. Levi: ‘For the first three days after death the soul floats above the body, thinking that it will return to the body. When the soul sees the body, that the appearance of the face has changed, it leaves the body and goes its way.’” (Jerusalem Talmud, Yebamot 16:3)
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.
19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
- The second stage of grief Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
She knew the word of God, and of the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
When Jesus arrived, He declared: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies…” (11:25). Being deeply moved by the sorrow of His fellow Jews over the death of Lazarus, He resurrected him from the dead at exactly the time He had planned to do so all along (11:36-38).
Why was Jesus late? He was late to show that resurrection is not something that He does; resurrection is something that He is!
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
- The third stage of grief Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”
28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
Even when you are hurting you can still lead others to Christ.
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Always at Jesus’ feet, not a bad place to be.
Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
John 12:3 (NKJV)
Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
See, she is always at His feet. And that is a great place to be, we all need to spend more time on our knees and in prayer and praise to Abba Father.
Sometimes good people go through bad times but if you let Him God can get the Glory!!
“The Five things to do when disaster strikes.” Part 2 next week
