John 11:37–But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

I don’t think there is a person alive who hasn’t thought to God, “why did this have to happen this way?” But faith in God is to strive to trust Him, even when we don’t understand.  To do so, acknowledges our lack of capacity to know all things and not try and compete with God.  In other words, to remain confused yet still trust God takes humility…(2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

In this passage, Jesus had just did a miraculous healing of a blind man that caused controversy.  Now that Lazarus has just died, these people had “an idea” of what Jesus could’ve done in alleviating such heartache surrounding Lazarus’ death.  In their minds Jesus shouldn’t have let Lazarus die, but they were not privy to the mind of God to raise Lazarus from the dead, that they could believe that He is the Son of God…

This passage illuminates what we are like, in thinking that life is about being relieved of every hardship imaginable, when Jesus is trying to reveal to us that He is the resurrection and the life!  That there are things that God could’ve done to alleviate the pain and suffering in our life.  But instead He allowed it, for the sake of revealing that “life” isn’t what we went through, but Him!  In truth, if God alleviated everything we desired not to happen, would we need to know Him as the resurrection and the life?(John 11:24-25)

These people were critical of Jesus, yet didn’t know the motive and plan as to why He allowed Lazarus to die.  The Bible says he stayed “two days longer in the place where he was” before he went to see Lazarus, who was still alive!  So Jesus waited for him to die, and the people questioned His actions…(John 11:5-7)

One of the more practical ways God drives out of us this mentality of “life” being defined by material things and comfort, is all the hardships we endure in families, relationships, our health etc.  If we find ourselves only questioning what God has permitted, instead of praying through what might be His purpose, we stand judging God with what we know.  Which begs the question, what do we know?  Our pride proves our priority is not to experience Him as the resurrection and the Life, but whatever He took/taking from us as “life”…(1 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 8:2, 1 John 3:2)

In His Love, Ld