2202 Already, But Not Yet

Today we’re living in the middle of a story that’s already promised an eternal ending, but we’re not there yet. We’re here – in the middle. In the middle of real life with real problems, real threats, real pain. Every day we are closer and closer to what is promised, but we’re not there yet. Within our Bibles is a story which so sweetly shows us our Jesus standing with us in our real life. He’s not just standing by in Heaven awaiting your arrival at the end of this life – no, he’s right here beside you, walking this out. Let’s read a familiar story with a new perspective. Jesus had a friend named Lazarus. Lazarus was sick, so his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent a message for Jesus to come. But, by the time Jesus gets there, Lazaraus is already dead. In fact, he had been in his grave for four days. Jesus meets with Lazarus’ sisters in their grief. John 11: 32-44, “When Mary saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. ‘Where have you put him?’ he asked them. They told him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ THEN JESUS WEPT. The people who were standing nearby said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But some said, ‘This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?’ Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ‘Roll the stone aside,’ Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, ‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.’ Jesus respond, ‘Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?’ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.’ Then Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!'” Question – Did Jesus go there that day knowing Lazarus was dead? Yes. Did Jesus already plan to heal him, even in death? Absolutely. Did Jesus already know how he was going to turn their weeping into sheer joy when he brought life back to this dead body? Yes! So, why did he still weep? Answer – because Jesus was still walking through every moment with them. He allowed himself to feel the pain, to know the loss, even while fully knowing the way he was going to work it all out. He already had a plan, but in the ‘not yet’ of the plan, he wept too. And my friends, that’s where we are – We’re living in the ‘not yet’, but never forget there is a already a plan. A plan which God promises is good. A plan where God will take every intended harm and use it for good. A plan which ends with an eternal paradise spent with Jesus. Why do some prayers feel unanswered? Why do good things get taken away? Why do we go through loss? Jesus stood at Lazarus’ tomb, with tears running down his face. He KNEW death wasn’t the ending, but he still entered into the pain. He stood there with his friends as they ached, as they grieved. It was already done, already made good in the hands of the Father, already answered, already healed, already restored – BUT NOT YET. Your prayers have already been answered – but today you’re in the not yet. God already holds those answers for you and he’s so lovingly guiding your every step on the path to those answers. You’re simply on the journey there. The things that have been taken away, the losses you’ve experienced – God holds them so perfectly, not in punishment, but in His hands. He is not standing at a distance watching you suffer, waiting for you to finally make it to the other side. He is right here in the middle of it with you. He knows what you don’t know. He sees what you cannot see. He knows what is coming when all you can see is what has already happened. Every broken thing will be made whole again. The battle has already been won. Today, you hold on to the promise. Already … but not yet. And sometimes the miracle isn’t that God keeps us from the tomb. Sometimes, like Lazarus, we find ourselves standing in the middle of something that looks completely dead. We don’t understand why He didn’t come sooner. We don’t understand why He allowed it. We don’t understand why the stone is still there. But Je