Recently these two words have been ringing in my mind. Alone, they aren’t the most pleasant pair. I’d personally pick more beautiful words to think about. Ya know maybe with some life and vibrancy to them?! But with time I’ve begun to believe these are the words the Lord wants to use to bring exactly that to my soul! In John chapter 11 the words “grave clothes” are used when Lazarus, a young boy who had been dead for four days, was called out of his grave by Jesus. My hope is that looking at some different points of this story together will bring us both new freedom, vibrancy, and resurrection life today!
Let’s first take a look at Lazarus’s sisters, especially Martha, and the rest of the crowd in this story. Martha and Mary were Lazarus’s’ sisters who on account were both present. These two women knew Jesus and believed in Him as their Lord. The rest of the crowd were Jewish citizens of Jerusalem who had come to the village of Bethany to console the sisters. All there at the tomb, Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” But immediately, Martha answered, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Pause here…
You need to know that even though she sounds doubtful here, Martha fully believed in Jesus and His power. Earlier on in the chapter she ran out of her house to meet Him and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” This is great faith! And Jesus made her a promise because of it. He said, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus meant He would raise him later on that day, but Martha assumed she had to wait until the End time for this promise to come true.
So, when Jesus went to fulfill the promise right in front of her, Martha stopped him.
Seems crazy right? But maybe we can relate to Martha more than we think…
Let me ask you, have you ever stopped believing a promise from the Lord could be fulfilled on this side of eternity?
Victory over depression, anxiety, or shame.
The healing of a loved one.
The joy you’ve been promised.
The restoration of a broken relationship.
The dream you’ve had since a kid.
You once believed it, but now you tell yourself, “It’s dead. It’s been too long. Just leave it be.”
If this is you, I have GOOD NEWS so rub the sleep out of those eyes and SEE: Jesus wants you to see the glory of God in your life right here, right now!!!
I’ll prove it! Jesus answers Martha in verse 40,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40
Now let’s read that again, but this time picture him sitting next to you, gently speaking these words into your ears right now.
“Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40
God wants you toseeHis glory. And if He made you a promise to see it in a certain way, He is not going to break it, but you can’t stop believing. Can you hear him? God wants you to believe again!
You are a holy investment. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, your soul will continue on forever. He needs you to believe you will see His glory NOW! When you get to heaven, it will be a beautiful continuation of the glory you believed in and saw on this earth.
2 Corinthians 6:2 says,
“Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2
Now you may be thinking, this all sounds great, but I feel more like Lazarus. The belief that I will see the glory of God in my situation is dead and gone. Like it’s buried in a grave somewhere. I don’t know how I would ever begin to bring it back to life. Honestly, there are areas of my life I definitely feel like this, so don’t hang your head- you aren’t alone.
But listen here, there’s a hidden secret in this story that’s the key to exactly this. It’s the words Jesus speaks after he calls Lazarus out of the grave. Scripture reads, “Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Notice who he’s speaking to? It’s not Lazarus. He called Lazarus out of the grave, but he tells the people around him to take off the grave clothes and let him go.
Here’s the key- you can’t take off the grave clothes yourself. He’s calling you out of the grave, but you need His people to help you take off your old rags. Then He can clothe you with His lively and vibrant new clothes He’s been waiting to put on you!