Roll Away Your Own Stone
I don't know if you've been hanging out with Jesus long enough to know this, but He is predictably unpredictable. He likes to change things up. In fact, I don't think He ever healed people the same way twice in the Bible.
Just think about some of the strange things Jesus told people to do.
When there was no more wine left at a wedding, He told the servants there to fill up jars with water and then serve it to the master of the banquet as though it were wine.
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When a blind man came to Him for healing, Jesus spit in the dirt, made a mud cake and said, "Here. Rub this on your eyes and then go wash off in the pool."
Can you imagine?
Any one of them could have said, "I'm sorry, Jesus. That sounds ridiculous and I don't think it's going to work and I'd just rather not have people making fun of me, thank you." But they didn't question Jesus. They did what He asked them to do…and they got their miracle.
Jesus was looking for faith.
All of God's children have faith. The question is are we willing to do what He tells us right away, or are we going to analyze every little thing He asks us to do?
Learning from Lazarus' Story
Let's take a look at John 11. It's the chapter where Jesus raises His friend Lazarus from the dead.
The Bible says that Jesus was deeply disquieted when He approached Lazarus' tomb. He was visibly disturbed. And Martha, Lazarus' sister, came out to meet Him and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Think for a moment how Jesus must have felt. He knows what has happened and has come to fix the problem, but no one really understands what He's capable of doing. He's surrounded by unbelief. And in the midst of the confusion, Jesus says to the people, "Take away the stone."
Isn't it interesting that Jesus was getting ready to raise a man from the dead but He drew a line at rolling away the stone? He wanted them to move it.
I bet it looked heavy.
Admitting It's Not Too Hard
So many times when God asks us to do something for Him, we look at the situation and say, "I'm not like You, Jesus. There's no way I can do that."
Maybe you need to forgive people who have hurt you. Maybe you're asking God for a new house and He's telling you to clean up the one you've got. Maybe you're waiting for a debt reduction miracle and you're still paying with credit cards everywhere you go.
Many of us waste years saying, "I can't do it, God. It's just too hard." But that's just a web of deception that Satan spins. When you know the character of God, you know He's not going to give one of His children something to do that they cannot do.
The minute you take a step of faith to do what God asked you to do, all of a sudden, a divine strength and ability hooks up with you. The anointing makes you strong and something you thought you could never do isn't that much of an issue anymore.
Staying Faithful in the Desert
A lot of times we think, I've been faithful and obedient and nothing's changed. Well, it will. The timing may not be right or there might be a few other things God wants you to do before you get your final breakthrough. But you don't have to be upset until God solves your problem.
We don't have faith so we can never have a problem. We have faith so we can have a problem and not let it have us.
Matthew 24:46 says, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.
Make a list of the things you haven't done that God's asked you to do, then step out in faith to do them.
Stay active. Read the Word. Worship with other believers. Continue to give. Keep learning and growing. Your faith will be unleashed!
If you will do what God tells you to do, there's no person on earth and no devil in hell that can keep you from having what God wants you to have.
