Don’t Stop Reading At Chapter 11

By Kim Cowan Marrs

Special to The Messenger – Opinion

HOUSTON COUNTY — I literally learn something new each and every time I read the Bible. After all, they say it is THE LIVING WORD! Recently, I discovered a truth while reading the Book of John that I felt I needed to share with you. Most of y’all know the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Well, if you start reading John in chapter 11, in the beginning you will see that Lazarus was very sick, so they sent for Jesus to come see him. By the time Jesus actually arrived, Lazarus had already died. He was in that tomb dead for four days — four days before Jesus ever arrived.

When Martha and Mary saw Jesus coming, they both approached Him and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Yes, they both said the same thing to Jesus. They were upset and thought it was over for their brother because they had already physically put him in his graveclothes and put him in the tomb. Jesus even wept during this part of the story.

Through their grief, his sisters had to bury him, and they thought his story was over. Now, if we stopped reading the chapter at this point, we would have thought it was over. How many times have we felt like our own story was over with no hope for a future? The devil even wants us to think that the story ends there for Lazarus, but y’all… it gets so good!

You know, during this part of the story, there was also a crowd of people around the tomb where Lazarus was buried. How many times in our own lives have we been surrounded by a crowd of people and yet we felt all alone? Like they just wanted to watch us in our pain, but not help us through it? The ones who don’t even call or text to check on you but say they are “here if you need anything.” To be surrounded by people who may have written us off or fail to even see if we are even just ok?

And we don’t have to be in the obituaries to be “dead” to some people or even to ourselves. Some habits we may have are already leading us down the wrong paths in their eyes; such as alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, lying or stealing. Some of us are even sitting here, “spiritually dead.” Honestly, when is the last time you even picked up your dusty Bible or went to church? The people “around” us have written us off and consider us “dead to them.” BUT GOD!

You see, if we stopped reading chapter 11 right there in the beginning, we wouldn’t have seen that further down that same page in verse 43 that Jesus told Lazarus to “Come forth.” That the man who was once “dead” lying in that tomb walked right out of that grave… surrounded by all those people. Jesus showed up when all seemed hopeless and performed a miracle! Now, God will even sometimes allow you to be surrounded by people, so you aren’t the only one who sees your miracle. Because when Jesus speaks, the dead respond, and He can change any situation you may be in!

But y’all… it gets even better!

In the very next chapter, chapter 12, there was a dinner party and guess what it tells us in verse two? It says, “There they made Him (Jesus) a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.” Y’all… Lazarus was dead in the last chapter, but in this one he was the one who was sitting right there beside Jesus at His dinner table.

If we had stopped reading in chapter 11, we wouldn’t have seen the BLESSING that was in chapter 12. Please don’t look at the beginning of your chapter 11 and think, “This is it… it’s over. I’ve done messed up too many times.” No, you keep on with that chapter so you can see the beauty that sits in the next chapter… just like Lazarus was sitting at Jesus’s dinner table! Let me tell you, no one is too unclean or broken to come to Jesus! No one! We have to rely on Him. We can’t do anything apart from HIM.

Plus, God sees us! Stop seeking validation from the world because it ONLY comes from GOD! The world doesn’t see the Blood of Jesus covering us when we ask Him for forgiveness — they see the past and the sin we were in… not where God is calling us to. It’s the enemy that likes to get in your mind to bring up the stuff you did back in 1999 to make you think you are unworthy for the calling you are walking out today. The calling God has for you… your purpose! Your MIRACLE that He has waiting just for YOU!

By studying and reading your Bible, you learn your strengths and weaknesses, and one of the greatest strengths we learn about is YOUR TRUTH… YOUR TESTIMONY… It’s allowing yourself to talk about your chapter 11 with someone and telling them how God showed up and blessed you in your chapter 12! So, keep writing that chapter and show others the goodness that is waiting for you!