Jesus Healed Me and My Unborn Child

Testimony – Resting in Jesus Finished work over Miscarriage!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Nerida Walker

 

Josh & I met on June 18, 2004.  On June 18 of 2005 we said, I do, and became husband and wife for life.  Little did we know at that time what, “for better or worse” meant when we said that phrase in our vows.  While dating, Josh and I decided that we wanted to be married for 5 years before having children, as Nerida states in one of her sermons, it was something we took for granted, we assumed it would happen whenever we wanted it to.  We wanted to travel, enjoy each other, get some money saved, all the things most couples try to plan before having a baby.  Well fast forward to our 5 year wedding anniversary, we were having dinner.  We started to discuss our plans on having a family.  Josh asked if I was ready to have a baby, and at that time I said let’s wait one more year, little did we know we were already pregnant.  After taking a test and realizing we were pregnant, we were ECSTATIC.  We told our families right away, we posted on Facebook right away, we wanted the world to know we were gonna have a baby.  Around my 6th week of my pregnancy I started having extreme cramping and bleeding, we called the Dr and went in for a ultrasound.  We were sitting in a small back room and were told the worst news.  I was miscarrying.  The Dr had zero sympathy, and sent Josh and I on our way devastated, confused, and shocked.  After experiencing that terrible difficulty, we realized we were ready to have a baby.

After being cleared, we decided to get pregnant again.  Right away with no problem we became pregnant, a little more aware of what could happen we hesitated to share our news with anyone except our mothers.  6 weeks came, and we had our first Dr appointment.  I hadn’t had any bleeding, so we were starting to get excited that everything was okay.  We sat in the Dr’s office and waited on an ultrasound.  We were told after the ultrasound that we were having a molar pregnancy, which neither of us had ever heard of.  After the Dr came in and described it I became terrified.  He said I was gonna have to have surgery, that if everything wasn’t taken care of it could cause cancer, to me it sounded like a death sentence.  I called my mom and told her I didn’t know if I wanted to ever get pregnant again.  After calming down, I began to pray.  I prayed that the pregnancy would not be molar, after having the surgery, it was confirmed it was not molar, but I never really got a clear answer as to what was wrong.

After a little time we decided to try and get pregnant again.  This time we were both scared, not sure what was ahead, trying to believe that everything would be okay, but always having questions in our minds.  Once again we became pregnant right away, went in for our 6 week appointment, and was told that this pregnancy was a blighted ovum.  Which meant, according to the ultrasound, there was a sac but there was no baby.  The Dr came in to discuss another surgery, we decided to let my body do whatever it chose to do.  We had heard of people being told there was no baby, and a baby actually be there.  So we waited, around 8 weeks my body began to miscarry again.  After this event I became doubtful in ever becoming a mother.  I felt so alone, I would see pregnant people in the mall and have such a desire to be a Mommy.  I felt like I was a let down to my husband, who I knew would be an amazing Daddy.  I felt like I had some type of disease that no one understood.  When all of my negative emotions began to calm down I started googling.  God used an iPad, & google to help me discover Nerida Walker’s ministry.  I searched and read and believed every word that she was saying, that night I ordered It Is Finished, and God’s Plan for Pregnancy.

When the books arrived I started reading It Is Finished first, I put God’s Plan for Pregnancy away.  I didn’t want to think about being pregnant or having a baby, I wanted to dig into the word and learn everything I could possibly learn.  I didn’t want to be reading just for having a baby, I really wanted to learn more about who Jesus is.  My whole life was spent in church, I was kinda taught to believe whatever happens is suppose to happen, it’s God’s will.  When reading It Is Finished I realized that isn’t the truth.  I learned that we have a power inside of us that can speak to situations, and they MUST change.  I learned that Jesus took stripes on His back for us to claim healing.  After reading It Is Finished, I began to read God’s Plan for Pregnancy.  I read every single word, I was also listening to sermons by Nerida several times a day.  Each day everything was becoming real to me, I began to believe that Jesus wouldn’t withhold any good thing from us.  I believed that I was a fruitful vine, that He makes the barren woman to be a joyful mother of children.

After much studying and building of faith, we decided to try again to get pregnant.  This time I felt different about being pregnant, I can’t say that I never got nervous, but when I did I would say out loud, God has not given me a spirit of fear.  I spoke to my body to line up with God’s word, and I wouldn’t accept anything else.  Once we saw a positive pregnancy test we went and bought a crib, I think I was 5 weeks.  We bought the crib while we were on vacation celebrating our 7 year wedding anniversary.

Our first Dr appointment was at 6 weeks, we had an ultrasound, and there was a heartbeat, there was a BABY!!!!  We were so thankful, relieved, excited, and a million other emotions.  I believed God, that our baby shall live and not die declaring the word of the Lord, I believed that I shall not miscarry or be barren.  I had an absolutely amazing pregnancy, no spotting, no bleeding, we were sailing through the pregnancy.  At our 23 week appointment we were given an ultrasound and told that they believed our baby girl had one ventricle in her brain that was larger than the other.  I got on google to see what that meant, I didn’t even know there were ventricles in your brain, I had only heard that word when referring to someone’s heart.  I received that call while I was in my classroom teaching my kindergarteners.  I left my students with the aid, went to the bathroom, and prayed like there would be no tomorrow.  I spoke to her brain, which I had done everyday of my pregnancy, to function the way God designed.  We had almost a week before our appointment with the specialist, my prayer for the appointment was, God let them look at us and ask us why are you here.  On a Tuesday morning, my husband and I make the trip to the specialist.  We walk into the ultrasound room, as soon as the technician puts the probe on my belly we were looking right into the brain.  She explained what we were looking at, she looked at us and said, “why are you here?”  I told her what the Dr had said, and she said, “the ventricles are identical, I can measure to make sure.”  Sure enough, they were both the exact same size.  God answered our prayer.

Fast forward to February 5, 2013, at 9:15 pm… a nurse placed the prettiest baby girl I have ever seen on my chest, 7lb 10oz, 21.5 in. long, Abigail Grace Watson.  Every prayer that I had ever prayed, every tear that I had ever cried was totally worth it at that moment.  She is now 8 months old, and is a total joy in our lives.  She has an amazing personality, she is so happy.  When she says Mama I feel like my heart is going to explode in my chest.  She is our good & perfect gift, she is fearfully & wonderfully made.  If I have anything to say to anyone, don”t lose hope, God is faithful to complete that which He has started in you.  He deserves the glory, the praise, and all the honor!!!!!!  Thank you Nerida for your ministry, blessings to you always!!!!!
 
Thank you,
Josh, Tiffany, & Abigail Watson

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"Blessed is She that Believed...and then Put it into Action"

Hello everyone!

My name is April and I am from North Carolina.  I want to share my testimony in order to help encourage others who might need encouragement.  I have been married for eight years and was trying to conceive for seven of those years.  Throughout all of those years, doctors couldn't tell me why I couldn't conceive.  I have always had irregular cycles since I was 13 years old, but could never understand why.  When I was 15 years old, my pediatrician told my mom that I would never have children, and if I did, I would have difficulty.  (Always remember there is life and death in the power of your tongue).  So not only was I fighting against the curse, I was fighting against the confusion in my head as to why I couldn't have a baby.

I felt horrible, sad, less of a woman and felt like I had let my husband down.  I would celebrate everyone else's pregnancy outwardly, but inwardly I would cry and ask God, "What about me?"  My husband and I had so much love to give and we wanted to have a baby so we could share that love.  I felt like I was being punished.  We would receive prophesy after prophesy, but still no baby.  I was over the prophesies...lol.  But then I found Nerida Walker online and started reading through her website and book, "God's Plan for Pregnancy".  We took scriptures from her site and posted them in our bathroom.  

One of the scriptures was Exodus 23:25-26 which states, "Worship the Lord your God, and his blessings will be on your food and water.  I will take sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land.  I will give you a full life span."

Every morning, we would meditate and read out loud faithfully God's Promises and we would declare healing over my body.  In October 2011, we went to a conception specialist and the doctor diagnosed me with PCOS.  The doctor also diagnosed my husband with low sperm count.  The doctor stated this the PCOS and low sperm count were the reasons we couldn't conceive.  The doctor offered ways to conceive and procedures we could get done.  After receiving all of that information, my husband and I decided that we were just going to rest and wait on God.  We put our faith in God's healing and continued to read out loud, in faith, scriptures daily.

On Christmas Eve 2011, I was feeling very weird and decided to take a test, and low and behold it was POSITIVE!  My husband and I now have a beautiful baby girl named Lydia who just turned one!  I pray this testimony will encourage those who believe God for their own family.

---April

I love this testimony for so many reasons!  April struggled with the "why's" that so many of us ask ourselves and ask God every day.  "Why her?"  "Why not me?"  But she didn't let her doubts, fears, and worries stop her from believing that God wanted her healed and to be fruitful.

Hebrews 4:14 and Hebrews 10:23 both state that we must hold fast (or firmly) to the confession of our faith in Jesus.  When we hold fast (or firmly) to something, it indicates that something or someone is trying to take it away from us.  Satan will try to steal the confession of your faith by putting wrong thoughts in your mind, hoping the thoughts will produce wrong words that will come out of your mouth.  He is also wanting to poke out your "spiritual eyes" so that all you can see is your natural circumstances.  But 2 Corinthians 4:18 says that we must "fix our eyes on not what is seen, but what is unseen."  The devil knows that if he can get you to focus only on your natural circumstances then you will let go of your faith and therefore not live a victorious life and see what you are hoping for manifest. 

But how do you "hold fast the confession of your faith" when we live in a world that lives by our five natural senses (see, hear, taste, touch and smell)?

1.  You ignore (not to confused with deny)

Your mind empowers what it focuses on.

To ignore something means you REFUSE to regard something or someone as important or you refuse to pay attention to. 

April ignored the facts and the doctors diagnosis.  She didn't deny them but she ignored them.  She didn't focus on the facts of the situation...she didn't give them  more attention than what they deserved.

 Jesus even shows us in the Bible the importance of ignoring the facts of our situation in order to overcome doubt and unbelief.  In Mark 5 starting in verse 21 it tells of the story where Jesus heals a bleeding woman and restores a young girl back to life.  Jarius, a synagogue ruler found Jesus and fell at his feet telling him that his daughter was dying.  He asked that Jesus come with him and lay hands on her so that she may be healed.  Jesus agreed and while on the way to Jarius' house, a woman with the issue of blood touched His cloak and she was healed immediately.  Jesus stopped to talk to this woman but while he was talking to her, some men came out of Jarius' house and said to Jarius, "Your daughter is dead.  Why bother the teacher any more?"  Verse 36 then goes on to say, "Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid (don''t doubt); just believe."

As you can see, even Jesus ignored the news of the little girl dying.  Jesus did not give any attention to the news and He instructed Jarius to also ignore and "just believe".  Jesus knew that if He or Jarius gave attention or focused on the facts of the situation then the thoughts and feelings would take over.  Jesus needed Jarius to "see the unseen" and not was staring at him in the natural.  Miracles take place in the "unseen" world before you ever see them in the "seen" world.

I believe that sometimes, "less is more".  The more facts you know, the more tests you have done, and the more you know about a situation, then the more you will reason why God's Word will not work or how your circumstances will be "too hard" to overcome.

2.  You fix your eyes on Jesus

Whenever Satan is trying to get you to let go of your faith you must always fix your eyes on Jesus because he is the author and perfecter of your faith.  Remind yourself what Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished!"  He has taken all your sins and healed you of all your sickness and diseases now.

Also, forget His unfailing love for you. 

3.  You embrace and attach yourself to God's Promises

When you embrace or attach yourself to  something or someone you hold onto them tight! You are close and there is little room for anything else to creep in.  Fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, and confusion can not wiggle their way in between and pull you from the promises of God if you embrace/attach yourself to them. 

April embraced and attached herself to the promises of God.  She started out believing in God and Satan got nervous, so he started trying to poke out her "spiritual eyes" by showing her "evidence" from the doctor's report as to why she couldn't have children.  But she didn't let her circumstances cause her to waver or let go of her embrace or attachment to the promises of God. 

My pastor once said in a sermon, "You don't try faith.  You attach yourself to it and you don't let go!"  I encourage you today to embrace and attach yourself to the promises of God.  Don't let go when Satan parades the "evidence" in front of you.  Hold firmly and remember that God is faithful and all of His promises are "yes" and "amen".  Keep holding on!

4.  You speak God's Word in faith

2 Corinthians 4:13 says, "For it is written; "I believed; therefore I have spoken."  God's Word is alive, active and POWERFUL and when you believe it, without doubting that it is truth, it can change any circumstance that you face today.  But the key is you must believe His Word and promises are 100% truth.  You can't just know the word and speak the word and then expect to see results.  You must mix the word with your faith.  For example, you can't just take seeds and throw them up in the air and hope that they will produce a good crop.  This same principal applies to speaking the Word of God.  You can't just take scripture and throw it at your circumstance without faith and expect to see the results that you are hoping for.  Faith believes before it receives.  You must believe that what you are speaking is 100% truth.
 
April believed in God's Word and put her faith into action by speaking it out loud daily.  She took God's Word and applied it to her situation on a daily basis just like a person would take medicine on a daily basis to get well.  Proverbs 4:20-22 says, "My son, pay attention to what I say, listen closely to my words.  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

When you speak God's Word, it becomes a two-edged sword.  One edge defeats the enemy (cuts his guts out) and the other edge opens the blessings of heaven.  Speaking God's Word also keeps your mind on God--therefore keeping your embrace on His goodness and His promises.

5.  You have discipline

We all LOVE the promises but we hate the process.  Renewing your mind in order to not let your natural circumstances dictate your beliefs and let go of your faith can be work.  We live in a world where we go by our five senses.  But you must be diligent and disciplined to keep renewing your mind daily and getting rid of every thought and word that is not of God. 

Joshua 1:8 says, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful."  

April was faithful to speak and think about God's goodness and His promises daily...it was her medicine for infertility.  If a doctor told you to take medicine every day until you were healed you would take it right?  The Bible says that God's Word will bring health (medicine) to a man's whole body.  So why do we find ourselves putting more trust in man than we do God? Putting your trust in God will bring blessings upon blessings.  Just look at the verse below...

Jeremiah 17:5-8 says, "This is what the Lord says, "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

I encourage you to mediate (think, ponder, speak) on this scripture.

Getting past your natural circumstances and solely believing in God's Word takes time because when you first learn the truths of your circumstance based upon God's Word, the truths can seem much smaller than the facts in the natural realm. 

God's Word is seed and when you first plant that seed in your heart it is smaller than all of the other seeds that Satan has planted (your negative thoughts, diagnosis, symptoms, etc).  If you want to see God's Word have power in your life then you will have to pay special attention to it in the beginning stages in order to keep it from being snatched away by Satan or dying from your own lack of care.  You must nurture it, feed it, and focus on it until it matures.  It takes WORK and it takes TIME. But it is worth it in the end!

 When i first planted my begonias in the flower pots in May I had to water them twice a day, pull the weeds, and clean off the brown leaves daily.  It was time consuming and sometimes I flat out did not want to do it.  But as they got bigger and matured, I noticed there were fewer weeds and I was able to stand back and enjoy how big and beautiful they had become.  This is the same with God's Word.  When you first plant them into your heart you MUST pay special attention to them but once they become bigger than the weeds that Satan planted then you wont have to guard them and nurture them as much.  You can then just start enjoying the fruits :)   

Matthew 7:24 -27  says, "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had it's foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 

Notice that the storm came to both of the men but the difference was however, the man who had built his house on the rock, who listened to God's Word, and put it into practice was the one whose house was still standing after the storm had passed.  You must be disciplined to put God's Word in your heart so that when the storms of life come, you wont be shaken to let go of your faith.

April spoke God's Word daily and so must you.  Speaking it "every once in a while" won't give you victory.  But when you are relentless and speak the word faithfully, then you will see amazing results in due time.  Don't merely do what is right for a short while and then give up if you don't see a quick result.  Remember, faith believes before it receives.  Do what is right over and over again, believing that your healing has manifested in the "unseen" (spiritual realm) and soon you will see your healing manifest in the natural.

I hope this has encouraged you to "hold fast (firmly) to the confession of you faith" and not let Satan poke out your "spiritual" eyes when he parades your "evidence" in front of you. It is imperative that you focus on God and not on the your problems.  Be diligent and discipline yourself to speak God's Word over your life every day just like you would take medicine each morning.   Renew your mind daily with scriptures related to your situation until the truths of God's Word are much bigger than the facts in your life.  

If you need scriptures related to ANY problem or circumstance you are facing today, let me know and I will help you in this area.  

  
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I Fought Inferitity with God's Word and Won

Yes, God STILL Heals!

By Evangeline Brown Colbert

"He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction."

Psalm 107:20

I am living proof that God is still in the healing business.  After hearing from my gynecologist that he was sending me to a specialist to determine why I could not get pregnant, I thought that childlessness was our "permanent condition".  In looking for a reason for why I was not yet pregnant, some of my tests results prompted him to tell my husband and me that we may never be able to conceive a child.

Fortunately, we were members of a church where the pastor believed in the power of speaking God's word and prayer.  He and his wife taught the church family that God's word and prayer would change things.  So my husband and I began to pray more frequently after hearing the doctors opinion.  I also began to keep a journal where I would write various scripture verses that dealt with the power of God's Word.  I didn't know it at the time, but I was putting into practice what Proverbs 4:20-22 says, "Pay attention to God's words.  Keep reading them and thinking about them.  Why?  Because they bring life to anyone who finds them, and they bring healing and health for their entire body and mind" (my paraphrase).

I kept looking for and finding more scriptures that would strengthen my faith.  I would write them out in my journal and add a note under each one about how I understood its application to our circumstance of infertility.  In other words, I would paraphrase it like you read the passage from Proverbs 4 above, so that I could understand it better and apply it to my life.  As I got deeper into the Word, I found that God blessed me--this was the only way I was able to have some level of peace through more months of conceiving.  Because I was focusing more on Him, I was not so focused on the inability to get pregnant.  I also found that doing this gave me more confidence in not only God's ability, but also His willingness, to heal whatever was wrong with my body so that I could conceive naturally.  

Where there is confidence, there is expectation.  Where there is expectation, there is hope.  Where there is hope, there is an inner image of something coming.  I had to hold onto that confidence in God for me to be healed, pregnant, and deliver a baby. 

I am now the proud mother of three beautiful children.

I hope this testimony offers you some encouragement today.  Speak the word!  Make your confidence and hope in God and put attention to His words.  They will bring you life, health and healing to you body!

Scriptures to offer more encouragement and to get you a start on speaking God's Word out loud EVERY day:

Psalm 103:1-4 "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 119:50 "My comfort in my suffering is this:  Your promise preserves my life."  

Matthew 8:17 "...He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."

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Keep the Faith...Remove the Doubters

Keep the Faith…Remove the Doubters

“And without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly SEEK him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

    Hebrews 11:6 (the verse above) is very clear that without faith (believing, having full confidence, and trusting in Jesus) it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  It is also very clear you must believe that He exists and that when you earnestly seek Him that He WILL reward you.  But the enemy also knows this and he knows that if you have faith regarding what you are hoping for and if you seek after God EARNESTLY (with seriousness) then he loses. 

     The enemy will do everything he can to plant seeds of doubt into your mind to get you to waver in what you believe God for and to quit seeking after Him in the matter.  Many times these seeds of doubt will come in the form of other close family and friends offering suggestions or other alternatives besides trusting in Jesus and standing on God’s Word.  Or they may laugh at you, give you weird looks, or share their opinions when you tell them you are trusting in Jesus and that He is your “Plan A…Plan B…Plan C…Plan D…well, you get the point. 
   

     Are you familiar with the story of Jarius in Mark chapter 5?  I have always read this chapter but I mainly focused on the woman with the issue of blood until a couple of weeks ago…something jumped off the page at me and I wanted to share with you how the enemy attempted to plant seeds of doubt into the mind of Jarius who desperately needed a miracle.  

Jarius was a synagogue ruler that needed a miracle and he knew Jesus could heal, therefore he sought after him.  Once Jarius found Him, he fell at his feet and asked Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter because she was very ill and dying.  So Jesus went with him.  However, while traveling to Jarius’ house a woman with an issue of blood came up behind him to touch His cloak so that she too could be healed.   

     While Jesus was talking with this woman (and I’m sure Jarius is standing there tapping his foot) some men came from the house of Jarius and said, “Your daughter is dead.  Why bother the teacher anymore?”  (I had never paid attention to the statements from the men until now.  How many times do people come up to you when your only option has been Jesus but your circumstances are either not getting better, not changing, or possibly getting worse and they start offering other “suggestions”…?  This happens to me ALL of the time. I believe the enemy was trying to plant seeds of hopelessness, doubt, fear and confusion into the mind of Jarius so that he would give up on Jesus.  Maybe the enemy was hoping Jarius would say, “Thanks Jesus for trying, but my situation is hopeless and there is not much you can do.”)

     However, in verse 36 Jesus ignored the men and told Jarius, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”  Jesus knew that these men could get Jarius to waver in His faith and if Jarius looked at his facts and believed his circumstances over Jesus’ healing power than Jesus wouldn’t be able to perform a miracle.  When Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid” he was telling Jarius to not look at your facts.  Don’t give into your feelings but just believe.  Believing and trusting Jesus is not based upon our feelings or what our facts are screaming but it is based solely on the Word of God and believing in something without “proof”.  Jesus wanted Jarius to know these important facts of faith.  

The story continues with Jesus not allowing anyone to follow him to Jarius’ home except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  (I believe Jesus might not have wanted anyone who had heard the little girl had died to follow and pollute Jarius’ mind with more seeds of doubt.)  As Jesus arrives to the home there were many people crying and wailing.  Jesus said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing?  The child is not dead but asleep.”  But they laughed at him.  

      After Jesus put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha kown!” (Which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!).  Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old).  At this they were completely astonished. 

Why did Jesus put everyone out of the house?  Was He mad because they had laughed at Him?  I don’t think so.  As I stated earlier, without faith it is impossible to please God.  Jesus needed to get everyone who “doubted” Him out of the room.  Their doubt could have caused the little girl’s parents to doubt and question if Jesus could do the impossible.  Remember the story about Jesus not being able to perform many miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief?  

Sometimes when we believe and trust in God for our breakthrough, the enemy will use other people (well-meaning and loving people) to speak doubt into our lives by possibly offering other “suggestions”.  They may ask “what are you going to do next?” or “Have you tried this…?”

     Jesus knew that we would face people and situations that would test or come against our faith and I believe that is why this story is so significant to meditate on.  Jesus showed what we should do when this happens.  He first told Jarius to not consider his feelings or look at the facts.  

 Second, He told him to just believe (put your trust, confidence and entire human personality in Jesus and the unseen.)  Thirdly, Jesus didn’t allow those who doubted Him to be around.  There are people that I have had to distance myself from because I didn’t want their words of doubt to plant seeds into my heart and mind.  Do I still love these people?  Of course!  Do I still value our relationship?  Of course!  But I have had to set healthy boundaries by either not spending as much time with them or by simply asking those people to not talk to me about my fertility issues unless it was in support of my decision. 

      It’s not always an easy task to keep believing and not wanting to give up or give in when your circumstances don’t seem to be changing or when other people have suggestions that seem promising; but keep in mind the story of Jarius and what Jesus said…”Don’t be afraid.  Just believe.”  Don't look at your facts (because they change) and don't go by your feelings (faith is not based upon your feelings).  Only believe in Jesus and that all of His promises are YES and AMEN.  

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But I Want It NOW!!

But I Want It NOW!

One of the greatest destroyers of hope and faith is waiting on God’s timing.  Mainly because in our minds, we do not understand what the holdup is; because to us, NOW (even yesterday) is the perfect timing.  We live in a fast paced world—a microwave society with the mentality of “I want it now and I will get it now.”  For example, we can print out pictures in minutes, we have instant messaging, instagram, atm machines, drive thru windows with the “30 second rule”, email (instead of snail mail), and even medicines that claim “instant relief”.  Do not let me forget that everything we could possibly eat can be microwaved or made “instantly” (instant mashed potatoes or instant rice sound familiar?).

Unfortunately, God does not operate on a “when we want it, we get it” time frame.  He is never hurry and sometimes we feel He can be agonizingly slow when it comes to solving the problems we bring to His attention.  It’s almost enough to make an impatient believer get angry or give up and try something else.   However, before bailing out on your hope that God will rescue you, let us look at a story in John Chapter 11.  It is one of the most notable stories in the Bible about two sisters and a brother who desperately needed Jesus to come to their rescue.  In this story, it appeared Jesus was “late” but He was actually “on time”.

 Mary, Martha and Lazarus were among Jesus’ closest friends.  Verse 5 says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”  It is a reasonable assumption that given this affection, they could expect certain favors from Jesus; and indeed, they soon found themselves in need of a “favor”.  Lazarus became desperately ill and once his condition worsened, his sisters did the logical thing and sent an urgent note to Jesus that read, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  As a friend of Jesus, Martha and Mary had every reason to hope and believe that Jesus would be on his way.

When the Lord received the urgent message, he replied, “This sickness will not end in death.  No it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  One would assume that because Jesus said the sickness would not end in death then he would immediately travel to Lazarus and heal him.  But Mary and Martha waited and watched the road for Jesus’ appearance but He did not come.  Hours dragged into days with no sign of Jesus and as time went by, Lazarus was steadily losing ground.  He was obviously dying and where was Jesus?  As Mary and Martha lay by their brother’s side they probably kept asking themselves and others:  Didn’t Jesus care?  Why is He being so late?  Did He even get the message?

Pause for thought:  Do you often ask Jesus these same questions when you are in need of His help and do you don’t see Him changing your circumstances?

The illness took Lazarus’ life.  I can just imagine their frustration with Jesus at this point.  Jesus was a close friend and He had all the power to heal their brother but He never came.  They probably thought He was out there somewhere performing miracles for total strangers, opening blind eyes and healing the lame.  Yet here they were in critical need of His care and He was either too busy to come or just unconcerned with their sense of emergency.  

Pause for thought:  Have you ever been frustrated with Jesus?  Have you ever felt abandoned by God due to your problem persisting?  

Finally after two days since hearing the news of His friend being ill, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea”.  But the disciples tried to talk Him out of it because just a short time before, some Jews had tried to stone Jesus.  But Jesus response was, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going to wake him up.”  His disciples replied, “Maybe we should let him sleep so he will get better.”  The disciples obviously did not understand that Lazarus had died, so Jesus said plainly (and probably a bit annoyed), “Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him.”

Pause for thought:  Why did Jesus say that He was glad the disciples were not there?  Was God setting the stage for a miracle so that He could show His power over death?

Then Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Pause for thought:  Can you hear Thomas’ tone in this statement?  He is basically saying, “Fine.  I guess if Jesus is going to be so persistent in going and he is so eager to get stoned to death than we might as well go and get stoned with Him.   It probably wasn’t the happiest journey to Judea for the disciples.  

Meanwhile, Mary and Martha wrapped Lazarus in grave clothes and conducted a funeral, but Jesus did not attend.  They said goodbye to their loving brother and placed his body in a tomb.  By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  FOUR DAYS?!  The journey from Bethany was only two to three miles from where the disciples were staying so even though Mary and Martha loved Jesus with all of their hearts, it would be reasonable to assume that they were annoyed when He showed up FOUR days late.  They may have been tempted to say, “UM!  EXCUSE ME?! Where have you been?  You are a little late!”  Instead, Martha met Jesus in the street (Mary stayed home because she might have been irritated, hurt or upset with Jesus for not coming sooner).  When Martha approached Jesus she said in verse 21 “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Pause for thought:  WOW! What faith!  Martha knew that even though her brother was dead, God would still do the impossible if Jesus asked.  Your situation may look dead and hopeless, but do you believe that God will do the impossible if you ask?  Jesus lives within you and whatever you ask in His name will be done (but remember it will be done according to His Word and in His timing)

As a response to her faith, Jesus replied, “Your brother will rise again.”  After this conversation, Martha went to get her sister, Mary.  Mary and several other Jews came out of the house and Mary, while weeping, fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  When Jesus saw her weeping and the others around Him weeping, He was moved in His spirit and He wept with them.  

Pause for thought:  What do you see when you hear that Jesus wept?  Do you ever visualize that Jesus is moved with compassion when you come before Him hurting?  Rest assured that He cares when you are brokenhearted.

When many of the Jews saw Jesus weeping they said, “See how He loved him?”  But then there were others (the negative Nelly’s in the crowd) who said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Pause for thought:  Does this remind you of some conversations you have with God?  Have you ever said, “If God loved me than why is this happening to me? “  or “Why am I still suffering?”

Jesus then went to the tomb and asked to have the stone removed but Martha said…”UHHH NO! That body has been in there for FOUR days and there is a nasty odor!”  Jesus then said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the Glory of God?”

Pause for thought:  What is Jesus saying to Martha?   Your situation may “stink” and look dead but Jesus is saying to you today “believe and you will see God’s blessings” No situation is too dead or too “stinky” for God.

The people standing nearby took the stone away and Jesus looked up and thanked God for hearing Him and then Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  Lazarus came out with his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and cloth around his face.  Many people who came to visit Mary and Martha had seen what Jesus had done and put their faith in Him, but there were others who still did not believe it was Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead.  

Pause for thought:  How often do you believe Jesus can do the impossible in your life?   Do you need to raise your expectation or hope in God?  Do you hear of miracles happening to others and still reject Jesus performed the miracle or that He won’t perform the miracle for you?  

As a result of Lazarus’ death, Jesus was able to perform one of His most dramatic miracles in His time in the ministry.  You see, Jesus wasn’t late at all because He arrived at the precise moment in order to fulfill the plans and purposes of God.   Just like in our situations, it FEELS like Jesus shows up four days late and only arrives after we have wept, worried, sweated, fretted, and paced the floor.  We always think that if He had arrived on time, when we first prayed, than we could have avoided much of the stress that occurred with His absence.  But it is important to not be led by our feelings and to recognize that He is never late and His plans are to always prosper and not to harm (Jeremiah 29:11).   Sometimes you have to step back and say, “It’s not about me God it’s about you, and I will trust you while I wait and let your glory shine.”

Pause for thought:  Could God be using your trial to bring glory to His higher purpose for you or someone else?

God will bring good out of every situation if you allow Him to do so.  I challenge you as you wait for God’s timing to not grumble, complain, or blame God, but instead use this time to exercise your faith by saying, “I trust you God and I know your timing is best.”  Tell Him that you trust His purpose for allowing your trials to continue and that you are open and willing to letting Him use you to honor Him.  God may be setting the stage for a miracle to happen in your life, just like Jesus showing up four days late set the stage for one of the most astonishing miracles in Jesus’ ministry.  

Jesus said in verse 4, “This sickness will not end in death.  No it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  Your situation, your sickness will NOT in the death.  Be like Martha and keep believing that Jesus has the power to do the impossible.  Allow His glory to shine in and through your situation.

Pause for thought:   How can God use your circumstances now to bring Him glory?  Could you strengthen your marriage during this time?  Grow spiritually?  Strengthen your faith?  Learn to trust God more?  Could you share with others the peace, joy, hope you have found while waiting?

Verse of the week:  

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.

At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 

Galatians 6:9