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Do you feel a call on your heart in this new year? To the girl with passion, compassion, & conviction–it’s go time. It’s time to walk in the fierce calling God sets before you.
I’d love to have coffee with Martha & Mary. Besides hearing about their fascinating conversations with Jesus, there’s something I’d like to ask them …
Concerned for their brother’s life, Martha & Mary sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” because surely Jesus would come and Lazarus would be healed. Surely.
But things don’t always happen as we believe they should–and God’s love is magnified in more extraordinary ways than we can fathom.
Jesus purposefully delays His arrival–because sometimes what doesn’t make sense in temporal ways makes sense in eternal ways.
When Jesus finally makes His way to the outskirts of Bethany, Martha hears He is near. She slips out of her home, where many had gathered to comfort the sisters, and went out to meet Him.
Martha says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21). How often do we tell the Lord what He already knows? But we should tell Him because although He knows our hearts, He wants to hear our hurts straight from our own lips.
That Whole “Martha/Mary” Thing …
It’s interesting to me that Martha was the one who left her guests to meet Jesus. We’ve met Martha & Mary before–in Luke 10. We learned Martha busied herself with hospitality while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. This time, it was Martha who drew near.
In the Luke 10 account and in Martha’s defense, she was fulfilling the cultural expectations of Jewish customs. It was expected that women should tend to domestic responsibilities.
Mary ignores this custom by sitting at Jesus’ feet, and Jesus throws out customs and expectations to teach us that sitting at His feet is better than meal prep–or anything else.
Of course, I’d probably dash to the kitchen to prepare lasagne if He showed up at my house, and hospitality is a beautiful thing, but it’s just not the best thing. Spending time with Jesus is.
Why bake bread when you have the Bread of Life sitting in your living room?
Back to the Story–Jesus Calls for Mary
Perhaps Mary was too bereaved to leave the house. Perhaps Mary was too hurt that Jesus did not arrive sooner. We don’t know her thoughts, but we do know one of the sisters had to stay behind. In Jewish custom, the bereaved were to stay at home for a week after a loved one’s passing.
When Jesus calls for Mary, Martha journeys home to bring her sister back to Jesus.
That warms my heart like melted chocolate on a S‘mores because Jesus calls for us too–by name. We are called to lay down what is customary to dwell in the midst of our Savior.
The Exact Same Words
Mary hurries to meet Jesus at that same spot and says the exact same words Martha said: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
The sisters knew…
They knew Jesus could have healed Lazarus. It was no coincidence Martha and Mary said the exact same thing to Jesus and perhaps had the exact same thought…
Jesus, you’re too late. Where were you?
But Jesus is never too late.
He calls for the stone to be taken away and then calls Lazarus forth–and out walks a guy who’s been dead in a tomb for four days.
Martha & Mary may have known Jesus raised others from the dead, and Jesus had already said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life…,” but it’s not revealed whether the sisters had hoped for such an event.
Except maybe for that one thing Martha said to Jesus during their conversation before Mary joined them …
“But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Then Jesus said to her …
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:22-27
That might have revealed a hint of hope, but still, four days dead in a tomb is a long time.
What would I ask Mary & Martha?
I’d ask them this:
“What was it like when Jesus requested the stone be taken away from that tomb? When did it sink in that Jesus wasn’t too late? That a miracle was about to take place?
How often do we trust our feelings over truth? How often do we believe the lie that waiting in the quiet means God is unaware of our circumstances?
One day we have this lush, flourishing faith–and the next our fears shear blooming faith back down to a seedling. Flesh is so annoying.
But we need not fear because God exceeds the expectations of our mustard seed faith every time.
In this passage, Jesus wept. He was deeply moved by their grief. He knew the outcome, but still, He wept. His compassions never fail and in the midst of our mess is His loving restoration.Jesus meets us in our need and loves us from mess to restoration.CLICK TO TWEET
What if We Believed in Fierce Possibilities?
It’s never going to happen, it’s too hard, it’s impossible …
What if we saw beyond the impossible and what if we allowed what moves us to move us?
I want to be that girl who walks in her calling with passion and conviction. I want to live out a fierce calling designed by an awesome God. Who’s with me?
What is a fierce calling? It’s living out our purpose with purpose. It’s impacting one life at a time while walking the path set before us. It’s discovering what God prepared in advance for us to do. And doing it.
It’s time to believe that dreams can happen when we’re wide awake, and our calling can be a fierce reality. We’re probably already walking in it if we’d only open our eyes to God’s possibilities.
Call to Action
Pray for God to open your eyes to His fierce possibilities in your life. What’s your calling, friend? You need not fear because you never walk in your calling alone. Joshua 1:9 tells us to be strong and courageous because the Lord God is with us wherever we go. That’s everywhere. List the gifts and talents God has given you, and discover new ways and places to use them. If you’ve never completed a spiritual gifts assessment, you might try taking one. But no matter the outcome of the assessment, God might call you to accomplish things outside your gifting for His purposes. And He will equip you for the journey.
May I Pray for You?
Father in Heaven, I pray for my friend reading this prayer. I pray her eyes would be open to Your fierce possibilities in her life–and that she would draw strength and courage from You alone. I pray Your breath would breathe life into any lifeless circumstances in her life right now and that You would fill her with joy in Your presence. And I pray she would walk in her Fierce Calling by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ Name. Amen (for full prayer listen to the episode)
Reach out to me on my contact page and check out my free resources on the home page at dorisswift.com!
Blessings!
Doris
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