When Things Don't Turn Out Like We'd Hoped

We should all be able to relate to the narrative about Lazarus in John chapter 11. We all have our own "Lazarus". That is a person, thing, or institution on which we have placed our hopes and dreams. Somewhere along the way most of us have said, along with Mary and Martha, “Lord, if you had been here this would not have happened!” Many of us can certainly relate to dashed hopes and are in need of new beginnings in our lives. The Sickness and subsequent death – and the resurrection of Lazarus – gives us somewhat of an insight into three stages of passage through which broken dreams could become new beginnings. Here are some truths we learn from John chapter 11.

What to Do When It Is Dusk (John 11: 1-16) Mary and Martha were living in the dusk in these verses. Their dear brother was sick and even through the darkness of death had not yet arrived, they knew it was near. Thomas was also living in the dusk. Listen to him in verse 16, talking of Christ’s imminent death, saying, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” There are some DO’s and DO NOT’s for us to consider when it seems to be dusk all around us.

• DON’T live in denial (1-2).
• Don’t depend upon performance (v 3),
• don’t get impatient (vs 5-6), don’t panic (vs 7-10).
• DO call on the Lord (v 3).
• Do look for a purpose (vs 4, 11-15, 40).
• Do find a promise (v 4), and do take action (v 16).
• When dusk comes and your dream seems to be dying, don’t just sit there, call on the Lord and take action.

What to do When It Is Dark (John 11: 17-37) What do we do when our dreams have died? Lazarus was no longer sick – he was dead! What should we do when our own dreams are dead? Again, here are some do’s and don’ts.

• DON’T hold back your tears (vs 33-35),
• don’t dwell on what might have been (v 21),
• don’t forget what you already know (v 22),
• don’t blame God (v 37),
• don’t procrastinate (v 29).
• DO face some big questions (v 26),
• do be honest with your feelings (vs 21 & 32),
• do be yourself (vs 20 – 21, 32),
• do reach out yourself to someone who is also hurting (v 28),
• do meet the Lord half way.

Like Mary and Martha, when our dreams are dead, we are prone to ask, “Could not Jesus who opened the blind man’s eyes keep Lazarus from dying?” But, we like them, might also find that what we think is a broken dream just might be an opportunity for a new beginning.

What to Do When It Is Dawn. (John 22: 38-44) The Lord Jesus still resurrects broken dreams today and turns them into new beginnings. It is important for us to know just what to do when the new day arises. The dawn brought three things to this little family. It brought light (vs 38-40), the stone was rolled away. It brought life (vs 41-44) Lazarus came forth. It brought liberty (v 44). He was loosed and let go.

What a great ending to a sad story! Have you ever read a novel that had a twisting plot. Lots of characters and lots of surprises? You get to the end and likely say to yourself, “I should have seen that all along.” But yet yoy didn’t. Mary and Martha said, “Lord if you had been here Lasarus would not have died.” True, perhaps, but neither would the Lord Jesus have been able to take a broken dream and turn it into a new beginning, for His glory and for our good.