The Stone That Keeps You from Entering the Miracle

The writer John paints a very grim scene for us here. He says: the Lord arrives at the tomb; it was a dark cave, perhaps damp and cold, and on top of that, it had a stone placed at the entrance. How many times do our problems look like that—a cave where there are scorpions and poisonous spiders—and not only is it a cave, but there is also a stone sealing it, right? That means double the danger and difficulty, and inside are our hopes and our desires for something we want, but there are obstacle after obstacle keeping us from entering the miracle we want and need for our lives.

How many times does life seem utterly difficult, tightly sealed like the walls of Jericho? It does not seem as though there is any possibility of a solution. Ah, but the difference is that Christ is on the scene. The Son of God was there. That cave, that impenetrable tomb, had no power to hold back what God wanted to come out of it. When the power of God is in our lives, there is nothing that can hold back the blessing. What God has for us, no one can take away from us, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be.

Then the Lord says: remove the stone. What obstacles are keeping the Word of God from penetrating that dark place in our lives? What is the stone that must be removed? Unbelief, sin, low self-esteem, negativity within us and pessimism, someone who is always telling us, “No, God does not love you; He is always busy; your faith is a crazy faith; you are a fanatic”?

There are stones that come between us and God’s miracle, and that stone must first be removed so that the power of God can be manifested in our lives. We have to ask the Lord: give me understanding. What things in my life are preventing Your full Glory and Your good intentions for my life from being fully manifested?

So when the Lord says, “Remove the stone,” Martha, the practical woman, right? That is the part that sometimes kills us: unbelief; thinking, “No, this is not possible; nothing like this has ever been done; there is no money.” We are always thinking about some obstacle; there is much more that could be said about that. But then the Lord turns to Martha, I believe almost with a little impatience, and says: Martha, how long are you going to keep doubting Me? Haven’t I already told you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? What causes the glory of God to be manifested in our lives? What is the connecting thread of the power of God? It is faith; it is believing, believing.

How difficult it is to reach that point of believing. Sometimes we even have to ask the Lord for faith; even in order to believe Him, we have to ask the Lord to do a work in our lives. We have to ask Him every day: Lord, make me a man, make me a woman of faith. May I believe Your Word; may I savor Your miracles before they happen. Because it says that without faith it is impossible to please God.

The Bible says: “The righteous shall live by faith.” The apostle James says that if we ask God, we must not doubt, because the one who doubts is like the waves of the sea, driven by the wind from one place to another. He says that those who are like that should not think they will receive anything from the Lord. Faith is the currency we use to buy from and sell to God, and we have to ask the Lord every day: help me to be a person of faith.

That is why it is necessary to read the Word of God, because when we read the Word and see these miracles, our faith increases, for the Word of God is powerful enough to activate faith within us. We have to be in continual relationship and conversation with people of faith who help us and make their faith contagious to us. We have to pray for God to perform miracles in our lives, and as we see those miracles, our faith will increase. We have to confess faith with our mouths even though our hearts often doubt. All these things increase and cause our faith to grow, which then turns us into conductors of God’s power and electricity, which is life for us.

Then the Lord says: Haven’t I told you that if you believe, you will see the Glory of God? My brothers and sisters, before concluding this wonderful program, this series of programs we have had, let us ask the Lord to make us people of faith and to help us understand—look, everything is possible for the one who believes. If you believe in the power of God, there is nothing that can stop you. The Bible is one long account, time after time, episode after episode, person after person, of this profound truth of God: that if we believe, the Power and Glory of God will be manifested in our lives.

God is burning with the desire to find men and women who believe Him and who have a heart that is perfect toward Him, who live their lives risking everything for Him and who pay the price, so that He may then fulfill His Promises and do extraordinary things through them.

All God needs is a man, a woman full of faith. He does not care whether you are educated, rich or poor, or ignorant; if you have faith, God can use you. Let us ask the Lord to make us people of faith. That is the basis, the very foundation of the Christian life. A heart that has faith together with a powerful Christ is a nuclear combination that breaks apart, that blasts open the world’s most impenetrable worlds and caves. Everything is possible for the one who believes. Let us live that way.

God bless you. I send you a warm embrace across these internet waves, and I declare the Grace of God and the Power of the Resurrection over your life.