Sometimes… okay, most of the time… maybe all the time, when we go through trials of any sort, it is difficult to imagine that the situation has the potential to bring glory to God.

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

John 11:3-4 (ESV)

If you’ve read this portion of scripture before, you’ll know that the one whom Jesus loves refers to Lazarus. Not only was he very ill, but by the time Jesus and his disciples started making their way to him, the man was already dead.

What never fails to amaze me is the disciple’s continual ability to respond in the worst possible way. They walk with Jesus. They learn from Jesus. They eat with Jesus. They minister with Jesus. They’ve seen miracle after miracle and yet, when Jesus tells them that Lazarus is dead, they say, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16)

So don’t feel at all poorly if you are unable to see beyond the situation all the time. All you need is that flicker of hope. That tiny spark that can be tended to and fanned into something greater.

But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.

John 11:10 (ESV)

A little light is enough to light your way and, as you gain confidence in your footing, that light will grow and grow until it is a burning beacon sent out into the world declaring God’s glory and victory over any and every situation.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 23-25; John 11:1-17