Because He Loved Him

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........The other day I was reading in John chapter 11. When I came to verses 5 and 6, I found something very interesting.
........"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha...So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.' But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.' Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was." -John 11:1, 3-6
........It says that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, so He stayed two days longer where He was. Thinking about it, that seems strange. If He loved them, He would go and heal Lazarus, wouldn't He? But He knew what was best for them and everyone around them and He knew that it was the loving thing to do to stay where He was.
........The evening of the day I read this passage, our family got the news that some friends of a family we know where going through some challenging times. The mother was very seriously ill and in the hospital. She had also recently given birth. They had four young children at home besides the new baby. The mother had been born again but the father hadn't. We may not understand why things like this happen, but I thought about it for a while and thought perhaps this would be God's way of bringing the father to the cleansing blood of Jesus.
........Many things that we do not like or understand will come to us in life. We can trust in knowing that the Lord only does what is best for us. Sometimes the things that may seem hardest are God's way of doing something better in our lives or the lives of those around us. If we trust in Him, we will never be disappointed.
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