KEY TEXT: Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
John 11:39 KJV
What Jesus asks for here is not a minor request. One can only imagine the reaction if someone came to visit the grave of a recently-departed friend and commanded survivors to “dig him up and open the coffin.” That, however, is the equivalent of what Jesus is asking Mary and Martha to do.
In that era, embalming techniques were not nearly so effective as they are today. Martha’s concern is not just practical, it’s emotional. Seeing the corpse of a loved one, even in the best circumstances, can be very difficult. No one can blame Martha for being unsure about the idea of seeing her brother’s body after four days of decomposition. The fact that Lazarus is so obviously and clearly dead was part of Jesus’ plan. He purposefully delayed His return to Bethany (John 11:6) in order to perform this very miracle. The assembled crowd, who followed Mary when she left to see Jesus (John 11:31), were also part of that arrangement. What happened in the next few moments was the most spectacular of Jesus’ miracles as recorded in the gospel of John.
Beloved, even though by this time your situation may be stinking, it could be part of the grand scheme of God to reveal His greater glory in you.
God loves it when situations travel beyond human intervention just to prove the worthlessness of trusting in the arm of flesh.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”
John 10:10 KJV
The activities of the thief end at destruction, but Jesus is able to give what the thief has totally destroyed life and even more abundantly. The worst of the devil is the beginning point of the good life that Jesus Christ is offering.
We are God’s work tools and He loves to showcase His wondrous deeds through us. When we have prayed about a particular situation for long and it keeps getting bad to the point of stinking, its possible that situation has been selected by God to reveal a greater glory. Let’s not give up so early because no matter how stinking the situation becomes, God is still able to salvage it and use it to His glory.
I love you all and may God bless you.
