When You Don't Get What You Want

I've enjoyed listening to bible on the way to work - the YouVersion app via Bluetooth in the truck.  This morning made me think of my senior sermon which was 35 years ago next month.  It was John 11, when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.  "When you don't get what you want."  I would probably rename it now, "When God disappoints you" or "When God does things you don't understand".  "When God doesn't meet your expectations"


Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to go see Lazarus because he was sick, and they knew Jesus could help. They'd seen him heal people.  He refused.  His friend Lazarus died.  That hurt Jesus deeply because they were friends, as indicated by one of the shortest verses in the bible: Jesus wept.  No other time do we see that kind of raw emotion from the Son of God.  I'm sure it left Mary and Martha confused because they expected him to leave immediately and do what he does best and what they had witnessed him do so many times.  But he didn't.  Later  they blamed Jesus for his death. "If you had been here my brother wouldn't have died."  


When he heard about the death, he decided to go presumably to Lazarus' funeral.  The guys around him didn't agree.  They knew that the last time they were in Judea, he was confronted by a bunch of angry Jewish people who wanted him dead.  If they wanted him dead they may want the guys around him dead too.  But he said he was going anyway.  The guys were confused and resigned themselves to the fact that this trip would end in all of them being killed.  He did the opposite of what they wanted.  They said stay; he said go.


He says: follow me. 

M: Ok. 

G: Over here. 

M: Ummmm...what? 

G: Over here. 

M: Why? I thought for sure we'd be going over here.  Over here makes more sense. 

G: No, I want you to follow me over here

M: But it looks like all of the good things are over here. I'll be happy over here.

G: Trust me, come with me over here.

M: Ok, but it makes no sense at all to me. *things totally unravel over here because he wanted me to come with him over there*

G: *does the totally unexpectedly amazing things that wouldn't have happened over there*

M: Oh wow, this is truly amazing.


If Jesus had stayed, some would have been unhappy.  If he went, others would have been unhappy.  God isn't in the business of trying to make everyone happy.  Sometimes he'll do things that will disappoint us.  No matter what he does, someone is going to be disappointed.  Sometimes it's other people...other times it's you.  Loving him means trusting him.  It means trusting that the direction he's taking you is going to bring about something to show his power, strength, ability, love, compassion, grace, mercy, peace...to show who He is.  Bottom line is that his agenda is more important ultimately than my agenda. 

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