John Reading GuideSample

Have you ever wondered about God’s timing? You’re not alone. Some of Jesus’s close friends did too. When Lazarus became deathly ill, his sisters, Mary and Martha, asked Jesus for help. They knew Jesus was traveling and His ministry was exploding, but He was a close friend. Surely He could take a few minutes to heal their brother. But Jesus didn’t show up. Two days later when He arrived, it was too late. Lazarus was dead. Martha and Mary were not only grief stricken, but deeply troubled by Jesus’s apparent lack of concern. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:21-23) Jesus replied to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Even hearing Jesus’s words, the sisters were probably wondering, “Lord, what are You thinking now?!” As they traveled to Lazarus’s four-day-old gravesite, Martha questioned Jesus’s timing again. His response to her was clear, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” After thanking God, Jesus called out loudly, “Lazarus, come out!” And he did. Lazarus, still wrapped in strips of linen, but fully alive, walked out of the tomb. Maybe you’ve questioned Jesus’s timing. You knew exactly when He needed to show up and what He needed to do, but it didn’t work out the way you had planned. Even when we don’t understand, He can be trusted. Isaiah 55:8–9 says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”  1) What did you learn about Jesus from this chapter? 2)  Have you ever doubted God’s timing? What did you learn from that situation? 3)  If you’re unsure about God’s plan or timing in a situation now, would you surrender it to Him? How could trusting God’s timing change your thoughts and attitude about your circumstance?