“Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest 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 might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. “ John 11:3-5

The account of the resurrection of Lazarus is very familiar to most Christians. We know how Mary and Martha sent word to the Master that their brother was sick. Upon hearing of His friend’s plight, the Lord Jesus delayed His trip to the ailing man for two days. When, at last, He did arrive in Bethany, Lazarus had already died and had been buried for four days. Jesus asked to be shown where Lazarus was buried. When he came to the tomb, He had the stone removed. He commanded Lazarus to come forth, and the dead man came forth from the tomb alive and well.

Being able to read the entire story from a bird’s eye view, we may miss some thoughts that relate to the sufferings that we endure as Christians. From our perspective, we would think that if Jesus did truly love Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He would surely keep them from as much suffering as He could. Jesus had the ability to spare Lazarus from the pain that he endured in his sickness. Jesus had the ability to save Mary and Martha from the grief that they endured watching their brother suffer and die. In verse 35, we see that our Lord Himself wept over the grief that Mary and Martha experienced. Yet He chose to not relieve them or Himself of these things. Why did He make them endure these things? How could He really love them and let Lazarus suffer as he did?

The answer lies in verse four. The Bible says, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.” I believe that we have a misconception of what the glory of God means for us. In our limited perspective we think that the glory of God is what keeps us from the most pain and difficulties. We think that the glory of God is always that for which we have prayed. We believe that the glory of God is that which keeps our loved ones from suffering. However, according to the Word of God, this is not the case.

The account of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha opens up to us a greater understanding of how God brings glory to Himself. God has a perfect plan for our life that may include our own pain and suffering or the pain and suffering of those whom we love. According to I Peter 1:7, these trials of our faith will be for praise, honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The praise, honor, and glory will not be to us but to God. Are you willing to endure difficult things in your own life that God may receive glory from it, even if you are never relieved of your burden? Being able to glorify God individually is a great honor. When we see Christ, all our sufferings truly will be worth it all.

But then are there no temporal benefits to gain from suffering? Will we see no good happen in our earthly lives because we have faithfully followed God through great obstacles? Many times we will see God come through for us as we had hoped and relieve our suffering. Yet there are two definite things that will happen every time we are faithful through trials. The Bible says in Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ” We are familiar with the promise that God works all things in our lives together for good but verse 29 is often overlooked.

In verse 29, we see the temporal end for which all things work together. First, the more that we victoriously experience suffering, the more we are conformed into the image of Christ. As Christians, this should be the longing of our hearts: to be like Jesus. Secondly, as we victoriously experience suffering, we become the firstborn among many brethren. Because of our trials, we are better enabled to witness of the grace of God and the power of Christ to bring victory over difficulties. We see this happening in the account of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. After Christ performed the miracle, many believed on Him (Jn. 11:45).

Although suffering is hard for us to experience or to watch our friends and family experience, let us remember that the goal is not our own comfort or necessarily how we think our prayers should be answered. Let our goal be “the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”