| After [Martha] had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you. ” |
| —John 11:28 |
I cannot think of a moment more filled with stress for Mary. Her brother, Lazarus, had died and she and her sister, Martha, just couldn’t believe that their close friend, Jesus, had not come when they called Him. What questions they had. What confusion they tossed about in their minds: Why didn’t He come?
Yet, He did come. And, the moment Mary heard that Jesus was asking for her, she hurried to Him. We learn from the rest of John 11 that Jesus’ exposed His higher purpose by raising Lazarus from the dead. What a glorious remembrance of her and answer to her prayer! In fact, it is very likely that, in this moment, Jesus did something that greatly exceeded what Mary had hoped would happen.
I can think of other instances in Scripture when God remembered His people:
- In Genesis 39 through 40, we read the story of Joseph cast into prison in Egypt on false accusations. In this tortuous, inhumane place he remained for two full years.
Then one day, all of a sudden it seemed, Joseph was called from the prison to stand before the King. Here, God used him to interpret a dream for the King and then elevated Joseph over all other men in that country, except for King Pharaoh himself.
God certainly “remembered” Joseph. What jubilation must have risen in his beaten, abused, seemingly forgotten soul!- When we look at the woman Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, we again see someone who felt abandoned and hopeless. Because Hannah could not have children, she spent a tortured life living with the heartbreak of barrenness.
The Bible says this went on “year after year.” Hannah thought she would never have what she wanted from God, until we read in 1 Samuel 1:19 that God “remembered” her! She conceived and bore a son and produced more children after.
How often do we give up on our persistent prayers because we feel as if we have been waiting much longer than we ever expected to wait, even “year after year”? From these lessons, let us take hope and encouragement that God really has not forgotten us. At last, He will remember us—perhaps not in just the way we dream, but in the way of His good and perfect will for us.
Take hope from these words found in God’s written Word. Please read Lamentations 3:22-26 and bask in the truth of these verses of Scripture:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
