Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
John 11:14-15
Delays in our lives are not always easy to handle or to resolve in our minds. Often, when God does not answer our prayers in the time that we feel He should, we appoint all sorts of characteristics to God's nature that imply He does not care.
Such was the case with Lazarus' sisters when Lazarus became ill and died. Jesus was a close friend to Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha (See John 11:1-45). When Jesus arrived two days later, Martha shamed Him by saying, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." She implied that He didn't care enough to come when he was sent for.
It was a matter of priorities for Jesus, not lack of love.
God often has to delay His work in us in order to accomplish something for His purposes that can be achieved only in the delay. Jesus had to let Lazarus die in order for the miracle that was about to take place to have its full effect. If Jesus had simply healed a sick man, the impact of the miracle would not have been as newsworthy as resurrecting a man who had been dead for four days. What many do not realize is that the key to the whole story is in the following chapter—John 12.
God often sets the stage so that His glory is revealed through the events that He orchestrates.
He did this with Abraham and Sarah for the promised child, Isaac. He did this with Moses and Pharaoh, allowing delay after delay for release of the Israelites from Egypt. All this and more God has done in order to demonstrate His power.
Delays can provide the necessary preparation and greater glory that God should receive.
Don't take the delays lightly and do not faint as God places you in what seems to be a holding pattern. God is at work and He knows the purposes for His delays. Don't give up, for they are for His greater glory—we just need to remain faithful.
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