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Apr 26, 2024 06:00am

Do You Believe?

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Sunday night.

It was almost time for dinner, and I had just a little more work to do. All afternoon before church, while Shaun took our weekly nap, I worked on watching videos and getting them trimmed, renamed, and organized to send in for the show.

Move this one here, move that one there, and…

Beep, beep, beep.

What was that?

Where was that beeping coming from?

The file open on my computer stopped responding. I couldn’t get anything to move. I clicked on the external drive, what I was working out of, and there it was

The rainbow circle of death.

You know what I’m talking about. The computer won’t respond. It’s working, but this pretty little dreadful circle of vibrant colors pops up and spins around to let you know to wait. Be patient.

But I was anything but patient.

Beep, beep, beep.

I looked at my external drive and pulled it up by my ear. Sure enough, it was the source.

Okay, no big deal. I’m sure it just needs to be ejected, the computer restarted and plugged back in.

Beep, beep, beep.

It wasn’t working.

I tried again.

Beep, beep, beep.

Panic.

Fear rose in me as I grabbed my phone and started messaging my friends at work with computer experience.

HELP!

I sent the message, feeling terrible that I was emailing on a Sunday night, but also desperate.

Shaun was headed up the stairs to the kitchen for dinner, and I told him.

“I’ll be up in a bit. I may have a big problem.”

I shared with him what I had been working on, and he asked if it was gone.

Yup. I can’t get it back.

And he sweetly replied, “Hey, it’s no big deal. It’s just one show. We can shoot another.”

No, my love, it’s not just one show. It’s everything.

15 years.

That’s how much stuff is on this drive. At least.

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still reading, I do not need you to say, “Don’t you know to back that up in another place?”

Yes. I know that. That’s not helpful. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. I KNOW that… but here I am.

The messages begin to come in, and the conclusions are all similar, “we can take a look at it, but it’s probably dead.”

You know that GIF of Stitch, the little alien, with his claws pulling down his eyes in disgust and frustration?

Yeah…

I won’t lie. I shed a few tears. When I say everything is on there, I’m talking EV-REE-THING!

Pictures, videos, old files from my days at UAMS, Bible studies I’ve written, material for speaking engagements, work—oh, you know, just everything I’ve been working on for the last three years at Lifeword. Oh, and did I mention our dog stuff? Yeah. Lots of documents, Excel sheets, pictures, logos…

Gone.

Can you feel the anxiety, too?

I was overcome. I kept trying to reassure myself, but it seemed hopeless.

I texted my friend and asked her to pray. And she did. It was the most powerful and incredible prayer, exactly what I needed.

I turned off my computer, set it aside, and watched the ballgame. There was nothing I could do.

But here I am, just a few days later, and I’m okay. It’s a bad deal, sure, but it’s just stuff. Many of those things can be recreated or produced. Sure, it will take lots of time, but I can be done. I tend to have this issue of control and let me tell you, when that thing crashed, I had zero control.

Sometimes, a fresh start is a good thing.

John 11:1-4
“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Lazarus, a man Jesus knew and loved, was sick. Not just a cold, but really sick. Bad enough that he needed a miracle to live. His sisters were desperate. They sent word to Jesus for help because they knew He was the only one who could.

And here is what Jesus said to His followers when He heard the news – “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

Most of them thought, “Phew! We thought he was going to die! Good! He will live! And God will be glorified.”

But they really had no idea.

As the story continues, Jesus chooses to remain there for two days.

Can you imagine if you were Mary and Martha? Desperate for help, waiting for Jesus to come, the urgency of the matter pressing hard upon them, and still Jesus didn’t come.

Jesus said to His disciples, let’s go to Judea. That’s where Lazarus was, and it was time. But they had just been run out of there with the religious leaders trying to kill Jesus. The disciples thought Lazarus was asleep. They said, “Let him rest.”

“14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”

Lazarus was dead?!

How could Jesus let that happen? He’s the Son of God! He’s performed many miracles, yet He tarried for two days instead of going to him immediately.

The journey was 2 miles. So, by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the grave for four days.

Martha runs to meet Him and says, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Martha knew Jesus was capable of many things. But it wasn’t even on her mind that when Jesus said her brother would rise, He could be talking about now. She assumed He meant the resurrection of all the dead in the last days.

But remember what Jesus said when He first learned of Lazarus being sick?

“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

God was about to do something big. BIG!

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

What a declaration!

First, he uses God’s name, “I Am.” Then He proceeds to tell her that He has the power to deliver people from death and that whosoever believes in Him will never die.

No one could make a statement like that except God.

And He asks Martha if she believes it.

Yes! Of course, she believes He is the Christ, the Son of God. But did she really believe that He could raise someone from the dead?

She ran back to the house to tell Mary that Jesus had arrived and called for her. There were lots of people gathered, grieving for the loss of this man, and they followed after her. Mary ran to Jesus and fell to her feet, crying and saying, “If you had been here, he wouldn’t have died.”

Seeing all the people grieving, Jesus Himself cried—not just for Lazarus but for the people.

“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”

For the glory of God.

While it was hard, this death and this resurrection, it was all with purpose. God used it to display His power, what faith in Him can do, and glorify His name. No one could do anything but weep, grieve, and be filled with sorrow because of this death, but Jesus offers victory over death!

I don’t know what kind of trial you are going through, what challenges lie ahead for you, what circumstances you’re facing, or what pain you’re in. But I promise you, God does.

And though He may not take it away, He is with you through it. He weeps with you. And He will use your suffering. It will not be wasted. He will be glorified through it.

Now, I don’t know if Jesus will raise my external drive back from the dead, but I can tell you this –

I have a peace about it. I know the Lord is good and He has already been glorified. My need for that “stuff” and control has loosened and I’m able to move on, start over, and rebuild.

He offers that to you, too.

Do you believe?