When, God?

Scripture: Mark 6:17-20

PRAYER:

God, help me set aside the distractions and concerns of the day to focus on you. 

READING:

When God Is Inattentive – Part 1

This reading plan looks at three stories from the New Testament about men who felt at a particular time in their lives that God was inattentive, uncooperative, and late. They teach us that we can go through tough times when we feel distant from God and still maintain our faith. 

Our first story begins with a man named King Herod the Great. He was called that not because he was a great person, but because he was a great builder. He was actually an awful person who, among other terrible things, had the babies in Bethlehem murdered when he heard a king might be born who would conflict with his goals and ambition. 

When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided between two of his sons: Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas. His third son was Herod Philip. A niece, Herodias, fell in love with Herod Philip. They were married and had a daughter named Salome.

Then Herodias divorced Herod Philip and married his brother, Herod Antipas. She became the Queen of Galilee. 

God sent John the Baptist (who was the cousin of Jesus) to Galilee to preach repentance to the people. He told them that God was going to do something awesome and they needed to be ready—they would not recognize the handiwork of God if they had sin in their lives. And he was a hero among the people. 

When Herodias moved into the palace with the new King Herod and became his wife, it was against Jewish law. John confronted her, saying that she had sinned against God because she married her husband’s brother.

So Herodias hated John the Baptist and wanted him put to death. But her husband was afraid there would be an insurrection against him as king among the Jewish people if he did that.

What happens next? Read how Mark, a first century follower of Jesus, records what occurred. 

For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” – Mark 6:17–18

John is referring to the Old Testament law—not the Roman law or the Greek law. He was holding them accountable to the Jewish law. 

So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. – Mark 6:19–20

Herodias didn’t just want John in prison; she wanted him dead. But Herod would have John the Baptist brought up from the prison for entertainment and would actually listen to him. Herod knew that John didn’t deserve to die. He also knew that if the people in Galilee heard he had executed their folk hero, it would not be good.

So John the Baptist was sitting in prison. He had been sent to announce Jesus, and he had done that. He had baptized Jesus. He had done everything God had asked him to do. And now he’s in prison for doing the right thing. Jesus was out healing people and doing all kinds of things for strangers, but he wasn’t doing anything for his own cousin. And John began to have second thoughts about Jesus.

In tomorrow’s reading, Jesus will offer us a model for how to proceed when we, too, feel abandoned and distant from God.

REFLECTION:

Can you think of a season in your life when it seemed like God was inattentive, uncooperative, or late? Maybe you’re in one right now. How has that experience affected your faith? 

Scriptures: Matthew 11:2-6, Matthew 11:11

PRAYER:

God, in times when you seem silent, help me to choose to trust that you are at work.

READING:

When God Is Inattentive – Part 2

Today we continue our story about John the Baptist. He had been obedient to God, but was put in prison, and Jesus had left him there without helping him. 

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” – Matthew 11:2–3

John, who had told the disciples that Jesus was the one, was having second thoughts. Sometimes when our circumstances take a sudden change, it impacts our confidence in God. Despite everything he’d seen and all that he knew, John began to doubt. 

In response to his question, Jesus doesn’t say, “Of course I’m the one! Go back and tell him I’m the one.” Or, “I’m the one and I’m coming to break him out of prison!” He says this:

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see.” – Matthew 11:4

Jesus wanted the disciples to go back and report the activity of God outside John’s prison cell, because John was a prisoner to what he could hear and see. 

“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” – Matthew 11:5

And this is the most important part.

“Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” – Matthew 11:6

In other words, blessed is anyone who doesn’t stumble away because of something Jesus has done or hasn’t done. But why would Jesus do anything to cause John the Baptist to stumble? Was there something he didn’t like about John? Here’s what Jesus says about him:

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” – Matthew 11:11

Jesus thought John was the greatest man who had ever lived to date. But John was going to be in prison no matter how much faith he had and no matter how obedient he had been. He was going to be in prison because that was part of God’s plan. 

Like John, your circumstances don’t necessarily coincide with how God feels about you. Proof of how God feels about you is what happened at the cross, not what’s happening at home, at school, or at work. Don’t make the mistake of letting your faith hinge on what God has done for you lately. When God is inattentive, unavailable, or late—look back and remember. Look outside your circumstances—outside your prison walls—and reflect on the activity of God. 

The story doesn’t end well for John. Herod has a birthday and Herodias sends her daughter from a different marriage to dance for him. At the end of the dance, he tells the daughter he’ll give her anything she asks for. Prompted by her mother, she asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The king calls for his soldiers and they behead John. Not long after, religious leaders pay to have Jesus betrayed, arrested, and crucified, and God did nothing to stop it.

But even though it seemed like God was inactive, far away, not paying attention, late—God was right where he wanted to be. And the events unfolded just the way he wanted them to. When God is silent, he’s not absent. God is not inattentive, he’s not unconcerned, and he is never, ever late. 

REFLECTION:

Have you ever found your confidence in God wavering because your circumstances had changed? Consider how Jesus’s response to John the Baptist might affect your view of God’s attentiveness and care in times of trouble. 

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-8

PRAYER:

God, in seasons of difficulty, I can so easily begin to doubt your goodness and power. Help me to have confidence in your love and care for me.

READING:

When God Is Uncooperative – Part 1

Today we begin a story about Paul, the man who took the gospel outside of Jerusalem and  Judea and began to spread it all over the world. Paul spent 20 years of his adult life traveling all around the Mediterranean Rim into very hostile environments, introducing the idea that God sent Jesus into this world to die for the sins of humankind. Paul was shipwrecked, beat up, stoned, put in prison, and almost drowned. Yet he did nothing but serve God faithfully. 

Paul became a Christ follower three or four years after the resurrection. Before that, he actually persecuted the church.

Soon after he became a Christ follower, Paul developed some kind of physical ailment (we think) that became an obstacle to the work God had called him to do. He began to ask God to remove the affliction, and the answer was no. But God promised him something else, which he also promises you and me.

Our story comes from one of the letters Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth, to a church he started. In the letter he describes his experience to them. He says that God had revealed such remarkable things to him to share with the rest of Christendom that in order to keep him humble, God had allowed him to experience this affliction. 

In his letter, Paul gives us insight into what we can expect when God says no.

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh… – 2 Corinthians 12:7

The thorn in Paul’s flesh was some sort of irritation, some sort of ailment that followed him wherever he went.

… a messenger of Satan… – 2 Corinthians 12:7

We don’t know if Paul meant this literally or figuratively. But whatever it was, this thorn in his flesh was so awful that it tormented him. Some people think he had recurring epilepsy; some people thought he had recurring malaria; some people think it might have had something to do with his eyes. (We do know that Paul had really bad eyesight.) Paul pleaded with God to do what he had done for other people: to heal him.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. – 2 Corinthians 12:8

The affliction got so bad that Paul didn’t just ask God to take it away, he pleaded with God. Paul was someone God loved and used in a significant way—but in spite of that, God said no. 

REFLECTION:

Is there something (or someone) in your life that you would consider to be a thorn in your flesh? Can you relate to Paul’s pleading for it to be taken away? 

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

PRAYER:

God, please guide my steps and direct my path today. Help me to trust that your grace is enough for me.  

READING:

When God Is Uncooperative – Part 2

Today we continue the story of the apostle Paul taken from his letter to the Corinthian church. Paul shared the experience of his “thorn in the flesh”—an affliction that tormented him. It was so bad that he had pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from him.

Now we read Jesus’s response.

But he said to me… – 2 Corinthians 12:9

For us, one of the frustrations is that sometimes we pray and pray, and we hear nothing. In Paul’s case, he actually got an answer. But even though you may never get a specific answer like Paul did, God’s answer to him is something that is available to you too. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus wasn’t going to give Paul what he was asking for, but his grace was sufficient. In this context, grace is simply the ability to put one foot in front of the other, to keep going even though nothing around you has changed—to find the energy, the strength, and the faith to keep moving in the direction God would have you move.

“… for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

None of us would sign up for this, would we? We’re all about giving glory to God, but we don’t want God to leverage his glory out of our weakness. We want God to leverage his glory out of our talent, out of our opportunity, out of our strength, out of our accomplishment. And God does that sometimes. But sometimes he says no. He’s going to get glory from you, but on the stage of your weakness, not your strength.

So here’s a heads-up if it’s in your future. Here’s an explanation if it’s in your past. And here’s some comfort if it’s in your current situation. God will, God has, God is going toshowcase his strength in our weaknesses if we will learn to take no for an answer.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses… That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses… – 2 Corinthians 12:9–10

Sometimes God says no. But even when God says no, he says yes. He may not change your circumstances. But while you wait and while you pray, his grace will be sufficient for you.

So here’s what we can learn from Paul’s story: It is not a lack of faith to ask God to remove our thorns, whatever they may be. We have God’s permission. But God has permission to say no. And that is not a reflection of God’s concern or lack of concern for you. It is his opportunity to showcase his strength in the midst of your weakness. But you can’t experience God’s sustaining grace while resisting his will and refusing to take no for an answer.

In the gap between what you want and what God has decided to do is sufficient, sustaining grace, the very power of God. When you’re at your lowest point, when you don’t think you can go on any longer, God’s grace is sufficient for you. In your weakness he is strong.

REFLECTION:

Can you think of times where you have seen God’s work accomplished through the weaknesses of people in your life? What can their example teach you about your own faith in times of trouble? 

Scripture: John 11:1-16

PRAYER:

God, give me the courage to trust you especially when I don’t understand how you are working. 

READING:

When God Is Late – Part 1

Our next story comes from John, who was an eyewitness to Jesus’ teachings.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. – John 11:1

Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived just a few miles from Jerusalem.

(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) – John 11:2

This explanation helped some people in the first century know which Mary was being talked about.

So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” – John 11:3

They had seen Jesus healing, and they sent this message seeking the same for Lazarus, the one that Jesus loved.

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” – John 11:4

Sickness for God’s glory? That was a new idea. Before he tells us what happens next, John says:

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. – John 11:5

Based on what happens next, people might think Jesus didn’t love them. But he did.

So when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” – John 11:6–7

When he receives the message, Jesus waits two days to say they are heading back toward Bethany.

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you and yet you’re going back?” – John 11:8

The disciples really don’t want to go because of the threat to their own safety. 

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when people walk at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” – John 11:9–10

Jesus is talking about opportunity. When the sun is up, there is an opportunity to do things, but when the sun goes down, you lose your opportunity. Jesus was going to leave this earth, so the disciples needed to learn all they could. 

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead…” – John 11:11–14

And then Jesus makes an extremely insensitive statement.

“… and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” – John 11:15

Why would he say he was glad he wasn’t there? It was so valuable to Jesus that we believe in him that he would allow someone to die to bring us to full, mature faith in him. 

Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” – John 11:16

We all know someone who sees everything as negative, everything as bad. Jesus had one of those kinds of people in his group of disciples. Thomas’s outlook was that Lazarus was dead, and the Jews were going to stone Jesus and the disciples. 

Tomorrow we’ll continue the story and see what happened when Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany.

REFLECTION:

Can you relate to the disciples, hesitant to face a perceived threat where Jesus is calling you? What gives you courage in those situations? 

Scriptures: John 11:17, John 11:20-27

PRAYER:

God, when it feels like you are delayed in answering my prayers, give me patience. Teach me how to wait with faith and hope.

READING:

When God Is Late – Part 2

As we continue our story, Lazarus has died. His sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent word for Jesus to come when Lazarus was sick, but he didn’t come. After Lazarus had been placed in a tomb, Jesus finally arrived with the disciples.

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. – John 11:17

Mary and Martha had tended to Lazarus when he was sick. They had sent for Jesus, having absolute faith that he would be there. They waited. Lazarus died, and still Jesus did not come. They put Lazarus in a tomb, rolled the stone in front of it, and began to mourn. And still no Jesus. 

Isn’t that where we live sometimes? God seems inattentive, disinterested, or late. And we think: I thought you cared about me, God. Jesus created this circumstance for Mary and Martha so we could carry hope into our futures. That’s how important this lesson was to our Savior.

The four days that Lazarus had been in the tomb were important. In the first century, they believed that the spirit of a person hovered over the dead body for three days, and in three days the spirit would leave. So four days later, there was no hope.

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. – John 11:20

Why do you think Mary stayed home? She was angry. But Martha went to meet Jesus.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” – John 11:21

In other words: This is your doing! 

“But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” – John 11:22

Here is Jesus’s response:

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” – John 11:23–24

Then Jesus said something only a crazy person or an impostor would say, or perhaps the Son of God would say. He looks at this angry, confused, emotional woman who loved her brother and thought she knew who Jesus was, and he said to her what he says to you and me. 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” – John 11:25–26

Martha thinks the resurrection is an event, and it is. She thinks the resurrection is about the future, and it is. But Jesus is saying: I am the resurrection and the life.

And then he asks her a question that he asks you too.

“Do you believe this?” – John 11:26

Do you still believe I am who you thought I was, even though I have not acted like you thought I would act?

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” – John 11:27

Tomorrow’s reading finishes the story of Lazarus. We’ll see the hope Jesus gives to Martha, Mary, and everyone else who is there—and that he gives to us as well.

REFLECTION:

How would you respond to the question Jesus asked Martha? Do you believe that Jesus is who he said he is? 

Scripture: John 11:33-45

PRAYER:

God, I’m grateful that even when I don’t understand what you are doing, you have a plan and and I trust you.

READING:

When God Is Late – Part 3

Today we finish our story about Lazarus. He is dead and in the tomb and Jesus has finally arrived in Bethany. Martha has asked Jesus why he didn’t come when Lazarus was sick. 

Now Mary comes and has basically the same conversation with Jesus. When he sees her emotion, he’s deeply moved. 

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. – John 11:33–34

Then John records something that helps us understand: When you’re going through the most difficult times of your life, God isn’t distant. He has the ability to enter into your deepest pain. 

Jesus wept. – John 11:35

When you’re suffering, it’s as if God leans into your world and says, I know.

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” – John 11:36–37

Why didn’t he do something about that? 

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. – John 11:38–39

They weren’t expecting this. Lazarus was dead. 

“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” – John 11:39

Jesus said to her, and he says to you and me: 

“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” – John 11:40

If you continue to put one foot in front of the other, if you continue to live your life as if Jesus is who he says he is, you will catch a glimpse of his glory, even in your most difficult times. 

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” – John 11:41–42

It was worth all of the pain for people to understand Jesus’s connection to God.

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. – John 11:43–45

So why doesn’t God always do something in our difficult situations? Sometimes we don’t know why. But because of that day in Bethany, we know he can. We know sometimes he waits. And we know we can trust him in the meantime.

If you continue to trust God in the midst of your difficult situations, he is able and willing to leverage those for his glory and for your good. This is what God has given us to hang onto in the midst of dark times. It was the candle that he handed the disciples. And it has been the hope and the message of the church ever since.

REFLECTION:

When God seems inattentive, look at what he is doing beyond your world. When God seems uncooperative, lean into his grace. And when you feel like God is late, look for his glory,  because if you believe, you will eventually see the glory of God.