What do you do when what you expect and what you actually experience don’t line up? Typically... we land in a heap of disappointment. If we’re honest, there are many times in life when we silently think, “This is not what I thought (or prayed) would happen.”

The Bible doesn’t shy away from unmet expectations. As a matter of fact, God uses them to teach us something more profound.

There’s a family in scripture known to be good friends to Jesus. He loved to stay at their home and eat meals with them when he was weary from traveling. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were a tight-knit family, and Jesus was crazy about them. One day a messenger came with news that Lazurus was gravely ill. Jesus sent back good news, “This sickness won’t end in death!” Martha and Mary must have rejoiced. The one they knew could heal their brother assured them everything would work out fine.

Strangely, instead of heading to where they lived in Bethany, Jesus stayed two days longer in the place he was ministering. Sadly, and unexpectedly... Lazarus died.

When what God says and what we see don’t line up, we must remember three things:

God sees an outcome, we only see pain.Just because things don’t happen like we hoped, doesn’t mean He’s not working all things together for good. If the “good” hasn’t yet been revealed, then you’re not to the end yet...because God works ALL things towards a good result.
After a heart-felt discussion with both Martha and Mary just days after their brother’s burial, Jesus takes them to the tomb and raises their brother from the dead. Their pain served a monumental purpose as centuries of people since their time have read and witnessed that sometimes Jesus has to let something die so He can bring it to life differently. If they didn’t experience that temporary pain, we wouldn’t have the hope of their story.
Our control and expectation must die, so our trust in Jesus may live. When we let go of compulsively trying to control and manage our lives, a fresh and new trust can resurrect in the dead places.

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Episode 3: Dealing with Disappointment