The End Result

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. Therefore the sisters sent to Him saying, Lord, behold he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” -John 11:1, 3-4

Don’t misunderstand Jesus’ comment about Lazarus’ sickness. He was not saying, “Lazarus’ sickness isn’t unto death; nevertheless, he’s suffering with this sickness to bring God glory.”

If we’re not careful, we can get confused because we don’t study the Word enough to rightly divide it. Jesus wasn’t talking about the problem. He was talking about the end result. Jesus always talked about the end result. He was saying here, “The end result of this sickness will not be death but the glory of God.”

Again in John 11:40, Jesus told Martha, “I told you if you’d believe, you’d see the glory of God.” The sickness took Lazarus’ life for a while, but his life was given back to him when Jesus raised him from the dead. Thus, Lazarus’ sickness wasn’t for God’s glory, it was his resurrection from the dead that brought God glory. That was the end result.

CONFESSION:

God is glorified when I am healed and walking in health. The end result of my life will be to God’s glory. I walk in health and run my race, and I will finish my course with joy!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999