Lord, If You Had Been There

Have you ever felt like God was going to do something and He didn't. The stage was all set. The circumstances were lined up and you were ready for God to answer that prayer you had been praying for so long. Then it doesn't happen. Why? You know God can do it. You've seen Him do it for other people. Why isn't He doing it for you. Our pastor recently preached a sermon from John 11 -- the story of Lazarus. Mary and Martha waited and expected Jesus to be there when Lazarus was sick. In verse 21, Martha is upset because Jesus didn't come. "Lord, if you had been there, my brother would not have died."

I can sure relate to what Martha is saying.

Lord, if you had been there, my brother would not have died in that car wreck.
Lord, if you had been there, my dad would not have died of throat and lung cancer.
Lord, if you had been there, my oldest son would not have made those costly mistakes.
Lord, if you had been there, my daughter would not have had her heart broken in that relationship.
Lord, if you had been there, my youngest son and daughter-in-law would have a child by now.
Lord, if you had been there, my friend would have lived through cancer.
Lord, if you had been there, my friend's marriage would have been saved.

Lord, if you had only been there . . .

But God . . .

Mary and Martha expected healing but God gave them something much better. What a Wow moment when God raised Lazarus from the dead. There was no denying that God did what only He could do.

Our pastor made two important points from the sermon.

• God's delays are not necessarily God's denials. Maybe God wants to do something in you before He does something for you. Continue to trust Him. 
• If God always met your expectations, He would never have the opportunity to exceed your expectations. What we want is not as good as whet God has planned. Continue to trust Him. 

I just want to trust Him. 

"Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God." ~John 11:40