"If You Like"

 "Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." (John 11:32 KJV)

  "O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don't let me enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!" Don't let them rejoice at me downfall. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me." (PSALM 13 NLT) 

 Maybe this might seem a little familiar, mostly because Martha had pretty much said the same thing, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother had not died." Does it really matter whether or not Jesus had been there? No! Absolutely not! Jesus can and does miracles from wherever He wants! All He needs to do, is to say the words, "Be healed!", because no matter how far away they might be, His word will perform that to which He sent it, guaranteed! 

 I choose to share PSALM 13 because it pretty much points out this, complex and misunderstood, concept of God's inability to do something, when there appears to be nothing being done! Call it, "a flip of the switch," if you like, because that is pretty much what it looks like. 

 Pastor Bryan illustrated something like this yesterday evening, as he shared his thoughts about Mark 13:24-26, comparing it to the way a jeweler might display his fine jewelry. Before he places his precious work of art out, he first lays out the sheet black velvet, providing the backdrop, that the beauty of what is put on display cannot be compromised by anything else. 

 Basically, what this looks like, in laymen's terms, is that of seeing everything wrong and sinister that might be within your thoughts, especially the thoughts of being overwhelmed and alone, and then flipping on the LIGHT! All of that darkness is ignored, because hope has been restored! If you like...

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change or decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while." (1 Peter 1:3-6 NLT)