When Everything in Life Is Normal, We Need to Prepare for Times of Crisis

I want to devote the next segments of this program to studying with you a well-known text of Scripture, chapter 11 of the Gospel according to Saint John, where the well-known event of the death and resurrection of Lazarus is recorded. And I hope that during this time we can draw from this beautiful passage some teachings that I know will be a blessing to our lives. It is always a privilege to be with you.

I want to read a couple of verses and then enter into the discussion of our passage. Lazarus has just died, and the writer, John the Evangelist, draws us into the drama of that moment. And it says here: "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany," the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It says here that Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair.

It says: "Therefore, Lazarus’s sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’ When Jesus heard them, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to Him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?’"

"Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? He who walks during the day does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But he who walks at night stumbles, because there is no light in him.’ After saying this, He then told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I am going to wake him.’ Then His disciples said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, then he will recover.’ But Jesus was speaking of Lazarus’s death, while they thought He was speaking about resting in sleep. Then He told them, ‘Lazarus has died.’"

Here in this passage we see a continuous treatment, throughout the entire passage, of this interplay between sickness, life, death, Jesus and His role as the giver of life, and the nature of death—what it truly is in light of Jesus’ presence throughout this drama. And this interplay of ideas and teachings for all of us is very interesting.

The first thing I see here in this passage that interests me is this idea that Jesus knows Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; they are friends of Jesus. In fact, Mary has a history with Jesus, in the sense that another passage of Scripture shows her anointing the Lord with perfume and wiping His feet with her own hair in an act of extreme devotion and worship of the Lord.

We also remember that Martha and Lazarus are the protagonists of that famous scene in which Martha is busily working to prepare the house for the Lord, who has been invited there with the disciples, while Mary is in the room at Jesus’ feet, listening and neglecting the housework that Martha has to do to keep everything running. Martha complains about Mary, and we know Jesus’ response: Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her, but you are worried about many things, aren’t you? A beautiful passage; perhaps we can comment on it a little later.

But what we see here—the first thing I see—is that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus already have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus loves and appreciates them and is their friend. And when they find themselves in this terrible crisis—the tragedy of losing their brother, in the case of Martha and Mary—they immediately turn to that existing relationship of friendship and affection they have with the Lord, and they send word asking the Lord to come because Lazarus is critically ill. Or rather, he has not yet died, but he is critically ill. They send for the Lord to come.

And I see something very important here, and it is this: we must always build upon a prior relationship with the Lord. When we have served the Lord, when we love Him, worship Him, seek Him, pray continually, and read His Word, a close, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is formed, so that when moments of crisis come into our lives, we can appeal to that relationship.

How difficult it is when we are in a terrible situation of tragedy and pain and do not know how to pray, when we have not had experiences with the Lord in life, have not been able to build up our faith, and have not had dealings with Jesus that would then enable us to draw near in moments of crisis with that authority and confidence, and to remind ourselves that we do indeed have help, that we have a resource—the Lord Jesus Christ—and that we can appeal to Him in our times of need.

So the first thing I see here is this, isn’t it? We must use the ordinary moments of life, when everything is well, when there is blessing, and when everything is normal, to prepare the way so that when a time of crisis and need comes into our lives, we can, as the Bible says, draw near with confidence to the Throne of Grace to receive the timely help we need.

So in the next sections we will continue this dialogue, but it is important, isn’t it, that we use the normal times of life to prepare the foundation for moments of crisis. How? Through prayer, the study of the Word, worship of the Lord, a rich emotional life, and experiences with God that strengthen our faith so that we can appeal to Him in times of need.

Thank you for being with me, and we will continue our meditation in the next segments. God bless you.

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