A Divine Delay

“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John 11:25

Jesus’ friend Lazarus was dead. The words in John 11:25 were spoken to his sister, Martha, who had met Jesus outside the village where she, Lazarus and their sister, Mary, lived. “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died,” she said. But Jesus could have been there. When he heard Lazarus was ill, he waited two more days before he came to see about him. By that time Lazarus had died. 

Seems a little insensitive at first glance. But Jesus’ delay was the most loving thing he could do. In verse 15 he tells his friends, “for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe.” Jesus’ waiting was not a detour, but a divine delay. He wanted there to be no doubt about who he was. “I am the resurrection and the life,” he tells Martha. Martha would not have fully grasped the truth that there is no life outside of him if Lazarus had not actually died. But Jesus loved her enough to wait. 

I wonder how many times the answer to our prayers comes with a divine delay. My husband and I hoped to have children soon after we were married. We spent nine years praying and believing God and even suffering a miscarriage before our first daughter was born. My girls are adults now and I can’t tell you how many times I have said, “I’m glad God didn’t give me children when I first asked for them.” Because of the delay, I felt better prepared and equipped to be a mother. God is never late. His timing is always motivated by his great love for us. 

Don’t let the delay cause you to doubt God’s love. He could be delaying so that your faith may increase as with Martha and his friends. Sometime, he delays or answers our prayers differently than we were expecting so that we might see him more fully and clearly. But no matter what, a divine delay is never insensitive. It always speaks of God’s incredible love.