In John 11, Jesus stood before the grave of His friend. The stone was still in place. The grief was fresh, the loss still raw. Lazarus had been gone four days. The air was heavy with sorrow and death.
“Take away the stone,” Jesus said.
Martha hesitated. Her words carried both love and doubt: “But, Lord… by this time there is a bad odor.”
Did she think He didn’t know? Or was it just too big to believe? Sometimes we’re like Martha. We long for God to work, but the problem smells too bad, feels too far gone. We remind Him of the impossibility—as if He needs reminding.
Jesus answered, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Then came the miracle. With a loud voice He called, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came—still wrapped in grave clothes but alive.
We remember that God said he is still “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). Yet how often do we not ask… or even think?
The world may doubt. Some believers may hesitate. But we serve a God whose compassions never fail, whose faithfulness is new every morning. The stone still moves. The dead still rise. And the glory of God still shines. You can count on it!
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.