THE LINC COLLECTIVE

Scriptures

Scriptures

John 11:1–44; Romans 8:18–22; John 16:33; John 7:1–9; John 2:1–11; John 14:6; Acts 9:2; Matthew 11:28–30; Luke 9:23; Matthew 26:39; Philippians 3:12–14; Philippians 4:6–7

Blog Post

Jesus Is Still the Answer

There are questions many of us carry quietly: Why has God not answered my prayer? Why has healing not come? Why does this relationship still ache? Why does the door remain closed when I have prayed, believed, and tried to be faithful? We may say we are fine, but beneath the surface there can be a deep wrestling between what we know about God and what we see in front of us.

John 11 invites us into one of those sacred, painful spaces. Lazarus is sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, are not strangers to Jesus. They love Him. They have welcomed Him into their home. Mary has worshipped at His feet, pouring out costly perfume. Martha has served Him with devotion. This is a family close to Jesus, and yet they still face grief, delay, disappointment, and death.

That truth alone brings comfort: hardship is not always evidence that God is distant, angry, or absent. Sometimes the people who love Jesus deeply still walk through valleys they never would have chosen. The sisters send word to Jesus with a simple appeal: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” They do not need to explain every detail. They rest their request on relationship. The one You love is suffering.

Jesus responds with a promise: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory.” Yet then comes the part that can feel confusing—Jesus stays where He is for two more days. The One who has power to heal does not seem to hurry. By the time He arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.

God’s delays can feel like denials when we only see the present moment. But Jesus was not indifferent. He was not distracted. He was not too late. He was working according to a greater purpose, revealing a glory that the sisters could not yet see. God is never careless with our pain. Even when His timing troubles us, His heart remains trustworthy.

There are moments when unanswered prayer calls us to honest reflection. Sometimes we do not see clearly. Sometimes we have moved ahead of God, ignored what He has already spoken, or become distracted by fear. The question is not meant to produce shame, but surrender: What was the last thing God asked me to do? Before we demand another instruction, perhaps He is lovingly inviting us to return to the last place of obedience.

Faithfulness is not striving to earn an answer from God. He is not a genie to manipulate, nor is His grace a reward for perfect performance. But obedience positions our hearts to walk with Him. It says, “Lord, even when I do not understand the road, I trust the One leading me.” The call of Jesus is not merely to attend a service or adopt a lifestyle; it is to follow the Way—to follow Jesus Himself.

Yet this story also teaches us that not every delay is about something we have done or failed to do. Lazarus was not sick because he was being punished. Mary and Martha were not grieving because they lacked faith. We live in a fallen world, a world that groans under the weight of brokenness. Jesus said plainly, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This is where the gospel gives us more than shallow optimism. It does not deny suffering; it declares that suffering is not ultimate. Romans 8 reminds us that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed. The pain is real, but it is not final. The diagnosis may be real. The financial pressure may be real. The fractured marriage, the addiction, the disappointment, and the grief may all be real. But they do not get the final word over a life held by Christ.

At the centre of John 11 stands one of the most powerful declarations Jesus ever spoke: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Notice that Jesus does not merely promise resurrection as a future event. He reveals resurrection as His very nature. He is not only the One who gives life; He is Life. He is not simply the One who performs miracles; He is the Resurrection.

Sometimes we ask God for an explanation, and in His mercy, He gives us something deeper: Himself. He may not immediately show us every reason, every outcome, or every turn in the road. But He draws near. He invites us to know Him in the middle of the unanswered question.

Mary comes to Jesus and falls at His feet. She says the same words Martha said: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” There is honesty in her grief. She does not pretend. And Jesus does not rebuke her for weeping. He sees her. He is deeply moved. Then comes the shortest verse in Scripture and one of the most tender: “Jesus wept.”

Our Saviour is not cold toward our sorrow. He does not stand at a distance, offering religious clichés while we grieve. He weeps with those who weep. He sits in the ache. He is near to the brokenhearted. If you are carrying pain today, hear this clearly: Jesus sees you, Jesus is with you, and Jesus has not abandoned you.

Then Jesus stands before the tomb and calls, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who was dead walks out alive. Jesus then says, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” What a picture of grace. Jesus calls us out of death, despair, shame, and resignation. But some of us are still wrapping ourselves in grave clothes, preparing for an ending God has not declared.

Do not bury what God may yet resurrect. Do not call final what Jesus has called temporary. As long as there is breath in your lungs, God is still able to move. Your hope is not in a perfect outcome on your preferred timeline. Your hope is in Christ—the One who walks with you in the valley, calls you forward in faith, and holds eternity in His hands.

Jesus is still the answer. On the mountain, in the valley, on the good days, and in the days when the enemy surrounds you—call on Him. He is faithful. He is present. He is resurrection and life.