Anger is the aircraft carrier in the fleet of our emotions. Not only because of its massive size, but also its ability to do harm because from it proceeds a multitude of other feelings—grief, sadness, hatred, loss, horror, and doubt. Anger in itself is not necessarily wrong. It is an emotion God has given us, but as with anything He has given us, we must not elevate it higher than Christ. If we allow our lives and hearts to be defined by our anger, we are worshipping at the altar of our emotions, not at the throne of God.
Mary and Martha were faced with the choice of harboring their deep-seated frustration with Christ or clinging to Him for hope. Their brother, Lazarus, was deathly ill, so they sent for Jesus, who they believed cared about Lazarus too. Yet to their surprise and dismay, He made no effort to get to them quickly. In fact, He stayed away another four days and moved on to a different city rather than running home to be with, and possibly help, Lazarus (see John 11). Imagine how frustrating this must have been for the Mary and Martha. They wanted Jesus to respond according to their terms. They were faced with the choice to hold a grudge against Jesus, or to trust Him.
Upon His arrival—finally—to Bethany, Martha ran to Him and started playing the “If only…” game. Later on, Mary joined in as well. You know the game I’m talking about. It’s the game we play when we don’t get our way in life, especially from God. We run down a list of “if-only’s” with God, telling Him all the ways things would be different if only He would have done what we expected. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was dead and buried, and Mary and Martha were sure things would have been different if only Jesus had come sooner. You have to admire the honesty of these ladies; in the face of loss they had the guts to cry out before Jesus and share their deep frustration with Him about how they wished He would have acted.
Before Jesus even turned his attention to Lazarus, he took the opportunity to use Martha’s honesty as a tool to transform her perspective and deepen her faith. She clearly had great faith in Jesus and acknowledged His unique relationship with God (John 11:21–22). To help her go even deeper, Jesus asked a pivotal question.
“I am the resurrection and the life. . . . Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord, I believe,” Martha responded.
In their exchange, honesty became the very tool Christ used to lead Martha to a deeper relationship with Him (along with Mary, who also witnessed Lazarus’s resurrection.) Jesus knew Martha was angry (or at the very least, disappointed), but He also knew that she believed. When honesty before God comes from an attitude of faith and surrender to Him, it creates the opportunity for Him to transform us completely.
Jesus told those nearby to open the tomb,and though Martha hesitated in disbelief, she agreed (vv. 40–41). She had a choice: stay angry at Jesus, fostering resentment and doubt by continuing to play the if only game, or take Him at His word, trust Him, and allow Him to change current reality. At this crossroads, Christ asked one simple question:
“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
If we allow our lives and hearts to be defined by our anger, we are worshipping at the altar of our emotions, not at the throne of God.
With that one question, He gave both instruction and promise. The instruction was to believe. The promise was that they would see the glory of God, which would most definitely eclipse any grief, sorrow, pain, doubt, or anger. This is a soothing promise because His glory is the summation of all His character applied to our current situation. Because they chose to believe, the promise came true right then and there, and they saw the glory of God as a dead man got up and walked.
Can you imagine the celebration that took place tomb-side that day? The hugs, laughter, and tears of joy must have been overwhelming for all standing by. I imagine that they were all astonished as they recounted the way Christ had not only raised Lazarus, but taken their faith to new heights. In the beginning, they expressed their anger and sorrow to Christ, and in love and gentleness He responded, calling them to greater faith. Their honesty was a tool in the hand of a holy God to transform their “if-only” statements into abundant “I believe” declarations.
