Opportunity To Believe

Scripture: John 11:14-16 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, because this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let’s go see him.” 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.” (John 11:14–16 NLT)

Thomas is often called “Doubting Thomas” because he didn’t believe the first accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. He famously (or infamously) said, “Unless I see the nail wounds and touch them and touch the spear wound in his side, I won’t believe he’s alive!” But here he shows his courage and his loyalty and rallies the other disciples to follow Jesus into a dangerous situation and an uncertain future. We have to be careful that we don’t let one weak moment, one mistake, or one failure define us. And we have to be just as careful that we don’t let others’ moments of weakness or failure define them in our thinking. Can you think of an instance in which something you did or failed to do “defined you” to a group of people, perhaps in your family? And think of someone who disappointed you or hurt you. Have you let that situation or incident define them in your eyes? What can you do to “redefine” yourself or “redefine” that person?

And then there’s this: Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there (to heal him when he was ill), because this will give you an opportunity to believe in me.” The greatest challenges and setbacks and disappointments we face in life can be the cause of discouragement and heartache and can even cause us to give up, lose faith, and quit. Or they can become what Jesus saw in the death of Lazarus, an “opportunity to believe!” Our greatest challenges can become “defining moments!” Stepping up to a challenge in the face of opposition, moving forward in the face of our fears, trusting again after a great disappointment is an opportunity to believe in Jesus and to write a new and fresh chapter in our life story.

What challenge, setback, or disappointment can you “redefine” as an “opportunity to believe?” What’s the important first step you can take? Are you willing to see this as a God-given “opportunity to believe” in Jesus and to step forward into a fresh adventure of faith that will bring glory to God and blessing to yourself and others?

Prayer:

Father, Jesus redefined the tragic death of Lazarus into an “opportunity to believe in him.” Help us to see an “opportunity to believe” in the challenges we’re facing. Give us the gift of faith and the courage to believe! In Jesus’ Name and for your glory!