Glorified 

By: Kenya Gossett 

As of late, I've been studying in the book of John. I have loved reading about the early ministry of Jesus. It's filled with one miracle after another. It has built my faith, and convicted areas that I've needed to work on. Discouragement over not understanding God was one of those areas. 

I'm in a place where I feel like the word "Why?" comes out of my mouth a lot. I've seen the goodness of God time after time, yet I still have days when I struggle with doubt. I struggle to keep my vision. But when I read a passage that I've read many times before, it was a sweet reminder from the Lord once again on why we walk through rough places and why we have to let go of what our human mind can not grasp. 

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” John‬ ‭9:1-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Now before I get to my point, let's fast forward to John 11:1-4.

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

You see, nothing is a coincidence with God. There's always a purpose. Every season goes through His hands before it gets to us. I'm sure the parents of the man who was blind, and Martha and Mary also asked within themselves "WHY?". The answer: because Jesus needed to be glorified. 

The boy could of been born with perfectly good health and clear eye vision. Jesus knew Lazarus was sick, so He could of easily saved him from death. But every person involved needed to build a heart of iron. They needed strength and a deeper understanding of the God they served. 

They needed to learn the TIMING of God. He is never early, He is never late, He is always right on time. They waited, so that the work of Jesus could be displayed and illustrated through them. 

I'm starting to see the same in my own life. I am finally understanding the concept of "His thoughts are not my thoughts. His ways are not my ways". Any day now He's going to come and awaken what I thought was dead. Any day now He's going to give me the clearest vision with His promise in view. He is a miracle working God. He's getting ready to show off! 

On the hardest days, we can't forget that. We can't miss what He's trying to do deep within us while we wait. Trust me, it's not easy. I've had breakdowns. I've cried, A LOT. I've struggled with believing. But you know what, Jesus has always come. He's never failed. So why would He start now?

If we never went through hardship, how would the world see The Lord? They wouldn't. 

That's why from the beginning of time, He has given us this example. Look at Pharaoh and Moses. God is God, with one word He could of delivered the Israelites. He could of skipped the 10 plagues. But once again, we see WHY in Exodus 14:4,

“I will harden (make stubborn, strong) Pharaoh's heart, that he will pursue them, and I will gain HONOR and GLORY over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I AM THE LORD."

I think you get the point! Beloved, do not quit the fight! Our Father is so full of love for us. There's nothing that's going to stop His goodness. He will go the greatest lengths to make something beautiful from the ugliest of ashes. That's just the God we serve. He's wonderful. He's caring. He's observant. He's present. He's ON TIME. 

He is the Lord of ALL. 

Your waiting is not in vain. Your frustration and your tears are normal. God never promised that the Kingdom would be easy, but it's worth it when He shows up. The glory of God is getting ready to flow from your spirit! For Such A Time As This.