Welcome!
Today: Shifting our focus right
Passage: John 11
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 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, NIV)-emphasis added
Jesus had already done his “homework” on this project – raising Lazarus up
That’s why Jesus said: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me”. He didn’t say, “Father, I think that you have heard me”
Before going to a home or to a person to pray for them, it is important that we do this “homework” (If we are going there just as a formality, then it is a different thing)
Jesus knew, what the people around him were thinking. He had a crowd of non-believers around. Usually, in cases like that, Jesus would take just a few with Him and ask the rest of them to stay away (as in the case of Jairus’ daughter)
Here, He had to do it even as all these people were watching (in disbelief)!
When a person gets into a sickness or a “situation”, there will be more dis-believing and doubting people around, than those who dare to believe. That is true for almost anyone
When we have needs/issues of our own, we better work on it, on our knees. Many a time we expect automatic miracles, which may not happen always. As someone said, life itself is a battle; it is a constant fight
Those who do nothing, will be the losers in the end
We better tell Jesus at least, so that He can start working on it
After the tomb was opened, Jesus looked straight up and prayed
It is not always easy to look up, when we have a big problem right infront of our eyes. Some problems may come and go, but some last for weeks/months/years
If we don’t learn to take our eyes off the problem and look to God, life can become just a bundle of problems
But as we learn to transfer them over to God, we have a way to go so that we can keep moving forward
Have a blessed day, as we start transferring our “issues” to God and continue to work on the rest
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your help. You are ready, willing and able to solve all my problems. Thank you, because I don’t need to look for someoene else since there is no one else who can do a better job than you. Thank you. Amen
When we do not “own” our problem anymore, God can claim it and work on it