21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32 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.
In the world today, we have found ourselves in unchartered territory. All of us, every one of us have never passed this way before. None of us have ever lived through an international shutdown before. We have never seen a time where schools, churches, and most everyday types of businesses were closed. We have never had social distancing rules for six feet of separation before. Never has there been so many Americans on or file for unemployment and out of money before. We have rushed to the grocery stores to purchase (and sometimes fight over) hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and a loaf of bread. Right now, there are people worrying about how they are going to feed their family or pay next month’s mortgage or rent. People are worried with the what ifs of life today and it is causing panic in the streets.
I know there is a lot of us in panic mode right now. Have you ever experienced a panic attack? Well here is what usually happens, The fear rises in your chest without warning. Your heart begins to race, and your pupils dilate. Dread and shame quickly weigh you down and before long you cannot catch a breath. It feels as if an elephant were sitting on your chest. You might even pass out. You might become nauseous. You might break out into a sweat. What if this happens or what if that happens.
It is a dark, scary place — the kind of place you never hope to find yourself in. And for some us, it is a place we never in a million years thought we would ever be in as we seem to stand right now. Some of us are still waiting on the temporary band aid of a government stimulus check, still waiting on the less than transparent tax collector called Internal Revenue Service to give us a miniscule bailout to buy a few groceries and pay a few bills, but after it is spent we will wonder what’s next or what if they don’t send it for some reason?
There’s panic in the world today, we are worried about catching the virus ourselves or what if our friends and loved ones catch this dreaded and extremely dangerous virus?
We are worried about the doorknobs and handrails and faucets and toilet seats we will inadvertently touch. We are worried about the stranger who is standing a little too close to us. We are worried about a government that is more concerned about the economy than the lives of its citizens, and a president* who holds uninformative press conferences each day in order to take the place of his campaign rallies until he can talk the governors into reopening their states despite the virus.
We are just worried and panicked right now, What if? But the text illustrates that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you’re a child of God, there’s actually no need to panic and we can trade our ifs in for faith. Before I go any further, I would be remised not to say that I know very much so what it means to panic. I have to tell you that despite every ounce of faith and belief within me, I’ve been in the panic pit more than a time or two. In reality, too many times to count.
But while I matriculated at the Guadalupe Baptist Theological Seminary of San Antonio, Texas one of my instructors admonished us to “preach what you know.” And so, I know that the Lord God is in control and not the president*, not the government, not the CDC, the IRS, the SSA, the FDA, the FBI, or the CIA, but He is in control! I know that He is a way maker and a burden-bearer. And He has been so gracious to me in that, through my on-and-off struggle with panic attacks, He has shown me that I don’t need to be ashamed — He shown me that praise and prayer is the answer to my momentary bouts with panic.
Here it is, God is a God of both power and love, and so my incentive and your incentive to pray should be rested in both His power and in His love. Why? Because His power determines His ability, and His love determines His willingness. Let me put it this way, if God were simply a God of love, but not a God of power, He would be willing but not able. Or, if He were a God of power, but not a God of love, He would be able but not willing—and so here is where the praise comes in, we serve a God who is both willing and able to deliver us from this deadly coronavirus!
And yes, He is a Deliverer!!! He delivered Daniel in the lion’s den, He delivered the three Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace, He delivered the children of Israel from the tyranny of Pharaoh, and as we go through this season of the coronavirus we need to keep in mind that He still delivers! Even when we think it is all over and there is no hope—He delivers!
In verse 21 of our text, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” And I noticed that in verse 32, Martha’s sister Mary comes along and repeats the very same words, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Now both of these godly sisters, did in fact have faith the Lord, there is no question about it. But their faith like most of us (if not all of us) was limited and they had the wrong expectations. The thing they expected for Him to do was rush to them right then and there. They expected an immediate response. But instead, He tarried a few days.
It is human nature, I guess, that when we are dealing with something, in this case deliverance, the longer we deal with it the easier it is for panic to set in and we deal with bouts of ifs & what ifs. Jesus here in the text tarried, He delayed in His response to their plea. Even today many people in America have become impatient and are even showing up at government buildings with weapons in their hands and on their shoulders demanding better yet, threatening the government to reopen even though people are still dying from the virus. However, it is my humble opinion that reopening the government at this time is like sending our children out to play in traffic. The anxiety in America right now is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
But I hear Paul saying, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” I wasn’t there, but I believe that Martha and Mary previously had gone into a panic mode when their dear brother Lazarus became sick onto death, and they knew, they just knew in their heart of hearts that Jesus was the Answer because He actually is the answer, and that He would stop whatever He was doing right then and there and come to their rescue.
Everything will be all right only, f He comes right now, but what if he doesn’t come right now at this very moment? If this happens Lazarus would surely die. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but apparently Martha & Mary didn’t have a mother or a father or a big momma to remind them that, “He may not come when you want Him, but when He does come, He’s always right on time.”
When Jesus did arrive at Lazarus’s house, you can tell that their faith had been challenged because they told Him in so many words, it’s too late, His friend Lazarus had been dead for four days. An old preacher used to say, “After four days, he was not just dead, he was plumb dead.” His body was beginning to stink. Martha and Mary both said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” What they didn’t understand, is that no matter what we go through in life He’s already there.
I love the lyrics to the song, “He was there all of the time, waiting patiently in line” Martha and Mary discovered that day that despite their ifs and what ifs they received a greater miracle, because He raised Lazarus from the grave after four long days. They discovered that day, that He’s an on-time God, and He’s a deliverer too!
I know your concerned about this global pandemic that we’re in, and you should be concerned. That’s right go ahead and be concerned, because there is a difference between being concerned and being worried. When a person is concerned, he or she does not go into the problem again and again. Instead, they will channel their energy to make the necessary choices and decisions in order to solve the problem with the help of God. But worry, is the complete opposite of faith. Worry is really a waste of time and it doesn’t involve God. Worrying is about being uneasy or anxious over something. Most of the time we worry about things we have no control over but still worry about anyhow.
Paul said, “we see through a glass darkly” and only know in part. However, sometime in the future, we will see “face to face” and fully understand all things (1 Corinthians 13:12). And so, during these stressful times in America and around the world, just go ahead and trade in your ifs in for faith.
Conclusion:
If is a powerful little word. Some people are stuck in "if only," trudging through lives marked with regret. But God wants us to live lives marked with possibilities, with the "what if" attitude that looks forward to the future with confidence, knowing that it is God who is in control. Why? Because the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is "No one, not even a deadly virus called COVID 19." God is always on our side. Yes, I am deeply concerned about this coronavirus—but I’m not worried. I don’t have to say to Him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, because I know that He’s already here!
The world is asking today, where is God during all this? Well, He’s with those who are feeding the hungry, and He’s with those housing the homeless, and He’s with those sheltering victims of domestic violence, and He’s with the doctors, nurses, and the other healthcare workers right now, He’s with the men, women, and the boys & girls laying on their sick beds afflicted with the virus right now!
He’s with you and He’s with me, watching over us day and night. We can live at peace because the Lord is with us, for us, and is working to deliver us from the coronavirus. We do not have to wonder where God is in the midst of the coronavirus, God is here. We don’t say, if he had only been here, God IS already here! And so, go ahead and trade your ifs in for faith. Amen.
