Does God make Mistakes?

Do you ever feel like there are those times when we believe God has made a mistake? Of course we would never say it aloud, but we feel it. We feel that God has done us a wrong somehow, and that the decision He made simply isn’t the right one for us.

Pandemic. I’m not sure that’s what any of us would have wanted or had scheduled into our daily lives. Perhaps you’re suddenly trying to manage children and/ or teenagers who have been thrown out of their daily routine of going to school and hanging out with friends. Or you’re now currently trying to figure out how to balance working from home. Perhaps you can’t work from home, and you’re worried about that next bill, or mortgage payment. Maybe you had summer plans for a nice vacation, and now those have been cancelled, or are slowly starting to look less realistic. Perhaps you’re at home, missing having your adult children over for dinner, or the presence of grandkids running around. Maybe you’re single, and are now unable to travel out of town to visit family, or even friends in town.

Your life is not where you wanted it to be.

Perhaps you do grumble and wish for different circumstances, or maybe, despite keeping a positive outlook with your feet moving forwards, at the end of the day, when it’s just you sitting there alone-you believe that God has made a mistake. Haven’t we all wished for different circumstances these past few weeks?

Last week in Bible study we were talking about how understanding the steadfast love and loyalty of God can help you move toward trusting Him in a deeper way. It’s hard to trust someone when we think they’ve made a wrong decision, isn’t it? After all, if we believe that God has made a mistake, so why would we trust Him with all our worries, no matter how small or big?

If you know me, even a little bit, you know that I’m not much of a talker. I’d much rather express how I’m feeling or what I’m thinking through writing. I don’t do well if I’m asked a deep question and have to answer on the spot, I’d much prefer to think things over first. I love deep conversations. I don’t trust super easily, and it takes me a little while to warm up to people. I’m stubborn, if I’ve made up my mind about something, I usually don’t change it. I love being outside, or lost to the pages of a book, or preferably both at the same time. I’m very close with my family, and I miss them a lot since they’ve all moved back down South to our family farm. I’m single, and I’m learning how to enjoy this season of life, though some days that’s easier than others. I am not currently stuck at home, but my current job has changed significantly in the last few weeks. To say that it’s been hard to find a sense of normalcy is an understatement. Most weeks it feels like the bad days outnumber the good. Sometimes the best part of each day is when I come home and know that I’ve made it through another day, and my reward is crawling into bed.

Working as a nurse in a pandemic was never on my list of things I wanted to do in life: Be the best big sister ever (√). Learn to jump my bike over things like my big brother. Wake up and magically have hair that was NOT this colour or this curly. Read all the books in the entire world. Pass every math test with flying colours. Graduate grade eight (√). Navigate adolescence with a cool, calm collectiveness. Go on a missions trip. Get my drivers licence and not kill anyone (√). Graduate high school (√). Move to China or Russia. Get accepted to every University I applied to. Pass university classes with flying colours. Graduate university (√). Become a nurse (√). Fall in love. Get married. Buy a house. Have tons of kids. Live on a lake. Have a lakeside farm. Watch kids get married. Retire. Watch kids have grandchildren. Pass away peacefully.

In any of what I told you about myself or my hopes and dreams, has God made a mistake? Thirty years might be a big chunk of time, so let’s take the last six weeks: Has God made a mistake? Has God made a mistake in placing me as a nurse in the middle of a pandemic?

I’ve told a friend or two this, but awhile ago I was reading in John. John chapter 11, to be specific, where we meet two single (?) women who perhaps feel the same way. In John 11, we meet three siblings, Lazarus, Martha and Mary. I know Lazarus is key to this story, but we’re going to look at Martha and Mary, Martha specifically.

What do we know about Martha?

Her name in Hebrew comes from the verb ‘marar’, to be bitter or strong. The name Martha means ‘Lady Boss’ or ‘Mistress’ or ‘Land Lady’. We don’t know exactly when Martha lived, but scripture referencing her is found in both Luke and John, Luke was written between 80-90 and John 90-100. We know she’s the sister to Mary and Lazarus and lived in Bethany (John 11:2) . There is some that think that Martha was older than Lazarus and Mary, and because of that, she carried the responsibility of all connected with the household affairs in the home. We do know that she was a personal friend of Jesus (John 11:5)

The first time we meet Martha is in Luke 10. She’s in her home and hosting a meal for Jesus and the disciples. On this day, Martha is working her butt off trying to prepare the meal for her guests. She sees her sister not helping and sitting there and listening to Jesus, which we know made Martha very upset. She’s distracted by the preparations at hand instead of spending her time with the One who loves her the most. In her anger, she snaps at Jesus and it says, “She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'” (Luke 10:40). Can you imagine talking to the King of Kings like that? Firstly, she tells Jesus that He doesn’t care about her, and then gives Him a command to make her sister help her. As a child growing up, because of this story, I so often heard, “Don’t be a Martha, be a Mary”, and that’s been something that’s always stuck with me. We continue reading this story in Luke 10,

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

One thing I love about the Bible, is that it’s full of stories about imperfect people. Jesus, who is just utterly loving and compassionate in this moment knew her heart and that she was worried.  He tells her that she doesn’t need to worry about all the preparations, and reminds her that spending time with Him was all that was needed, like Mary had chosen to do.

We get to John 11, which we can rather assume takes place sometime after this interaction in Luke 10.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

I don’t know about any of you, but when I read this last, I got stuck at this point. When you hear that a loved one of yours is sick, is your first instinct to stay? Perhaps you will answer this question differently this day in age, but when you hear a loved one is dying, most people tend to gather. Today, we don’t have the luxury of sending a text to Jesus, and saying, “Hey, my brother is sick. Come here. I believe in who You are and what You can do”. Of course we can’t text Jesus, but we can pray. In fact, we’re encouraged to pray and bring everything to God first.

Martha and Mary called upon Jesus when they were struggling. They did everything that ‘good’ Christian women ought to do first. And yet Jesus stayed away.

One day turns into two days. Two into three. Three into four. FOUR DAYS.

Lazarus dies (John 11:14) (Spoiler alert: Obviously, given what this chapter is called.)

Is there any doubt that these two women thought that God had made a mistake? I don’t know about you, but in seeing how bold Martha was back in Luke 10, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Martha and Mary (but Martha in particular), wanted to throw the challenge flag out to Jesus, and call Him out on this mistake. Why didn’t the miracle worker come to their home? Were they not loved? Had Jesus made a mistake?

John 11:11-14

¹¹ After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹² His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

We know that Jesus says this to his disciples, but can you imagine being part of that group where just as Jesus was friends with Martha, Mary and Lazarus, the disciples were too. You hear your friend is sick, and you’re with the Son of God, who is more than just pretty good at doing miracles, and then he cracks off a line like “Lazarus is dead and for your sakes I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe”? You know, your ‘I see a mistake’ flag should be waving violently here!

I love this next part.

John 11:17-22

¹⁷ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Martha. I mean, that’s an angry woman. That’s a hurting woman. That’s a grieving woman. That’s a confused woman. But that’s a bold woman.

Jesus FINALLY arrives, and Martha goes out to Him. Two things stood out to me here. One, Martha knew what Jesus was capable of, and that He could have healed Lazarus. Two, Martha challenges His absence in all of this.

Did Jesus make a mistake?

John 11:23-27

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

I love how Jesus answers Martha with a challenge of His own because HE knows who Martha is, and how she needs to learn. In the midst of her accusations on His delay leading to Lazarus’ death, Jesus challenges her to believe. He challenged her to place her faith more deeply in Him than it had already been. We know that Jesus already had this worked out back in verse 11, but Martha doesn’t know that.

We are all in the midst of circumstances right now that we don’t know the end to. We have doubts, we have worries, and we have fears. And sometimes we wonder if God is making a mistake.

Aren’t we so blessed to be called ‘loved’ by the One who relentlessly pursues us even when we challenge Him to His face?

Why does God allow us to face hardships? He allows us to because He wants us to come to Him. Every time. Not some of the time. Not when we don’t feel like it, or when we sometimes feel like it. Every time.

There’s such freedom in running with all those insecurities, fears, doubts and worries to God and saying, “Help me. I can’t deal with this on my own. You are greater than all of this”. He CAN and He WILL work in this. He does such great things when we stop resisting and challenging Him and we just let Him work.

We get the benefit of reading stories in the Bible and knowing the start and end in a matter of minutes, but Martha didn’t have that, as she’s living this. We know that the reason Jesus was glad He had been delayed was so that His power could be made manifest in even a greater way than ever before. And in all of this, Jesus’ heart still broke under the weight of his friends’ sorrow, and he weeps (John 11:33-35).

John 11: 38-39

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

(I don’t know about any of you, but this a weird request coming from Jesus)

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”

Martha. Ever the practical, no nonsense woman, decides that right then and there is the best time to remind the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE on how body decomposition works. Which, we know….dead for four days in a cave located in hot, sunny Israel…her concerns are pretty legitimate.

Jesus, knowing and loving every bit of who Martha is as her practical, no-nonsense self, says so kindly, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11: 40) He urges her to believe and trust in Him, but more importantly, have her actions reflect that belief.

Wow.

And in the midst of unbearable pain and loss, Martha steps out in faith and the stone is moved way (John 11: 41).

And how does Jesus respond to Martha trusting Him in a deeper way? He does the unthinkable, and calls Lazarus out of the tomb (John 11:43-44).

God has a plan that includes both the ordinary and extraordinary things in life. But His plan is always timed to His agenda, not our own. Yes, we can choose to remain in our doubts, worries and fears, but then we miss out on all God has to offer when we choose to trust and step out in faith.

Back to our question, Did Jesus make a mistake in staying away and letting Lazarus die? No. He does this so that those around Him could experience a resurrection through a miracle. But, you cannot have a resurrection without a death. Lazarus had to die. And in order for this miracle to happen because of this death, both Martha and Mary had to step out in trust, and remove the stone that Jesus was asking them to move.

Too often God is waiting on us to carry out our acts of obedience in trust while we think we are waiting on Him. It is not bad thing to wonder what He is up to in the midst of our circumstances, but we still need to be reminded like Martha. We need to bring our problems to Him first, but then we have to surrender our timing and our plans to His will and trust that it is good.

We need to trust that He is good.

This pandemic is not a mistake on God’s part. It’s perfectly timed and will be used for His glory, and His glory alone.

I so loved being reminded that He is unchangeable even during our changing circumstances and that He is always good. I’ve had people sending me verses throughout the last few weeks, which have been encouraging to me day to day. Not every day is a ‘good’ day, but I know that even in those moments, those long hours of waiting and questioning, that God is driving  me to a point of spiritual depth and experience with Him that beckons me to step out in faith and trust Him.

A pandemic isn’t on my list of top choices (or any list of choices for the record) in how I’d like to be taught by God. But that is where there is beauty in belonging to God, who loves me just as I am, and who knows exactly how this heart of mine needs to be reminded, loved on, and called into stepping out in faith this day in age.

For a time such as this.