Austin's Blog

In John 11:17-25, we witness a powerful blend of raw human emotion and steadfast faith. Martha’s words to Jesus capture the essence of disappointment: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Her statement is loaded with unspoken expectations. Martha believed that because Jesus loved her family, He would have come immediately to prevent Lazarus’s death. This expectation wasn’t met, leading to her disappointment. She was in the throes of grief and disappointment was snapping at her heels. This is that ancient cry of “How long’ O Lord?” that we see throughout the Bible and history. “If you’ve been a Christian for a while, my guess is you can think of times when you’ve cried to God for help and felt like you got nothing back,” Rebecca McLaughlin writes, “You’ve prayed for healing and it hasn’t come. You’ve sent for Jesus and felt quite alone.” We all have our, “Lord, if you had been here” moments.

Yet, in the very next breath, Martha expresses a deep-rooted faith: “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Here, we see a profound truth—that disappointment and faith can coexist. Martha doesn’t hide her grief or her sense of loss, but she also doesn’t let it overshadow her belief in Jesus’ power and goodness.

This moment teaches us that it’s okay to feel let down when things don’t go as we hoped, even when we trust in God. Faith doesn’t mean we won’t feel pain or question why something happened. Instead, it’s the confidence that God can work in the midst of our pain. Martha’s trust in Jesus’ character—despite her brother’s death—models how we should hold onto what we’ve learned about God’s nature during moments of suffering.

When we face our darkest times, like the death of a loved one, it’s natural to feel shaken. But Martha’s example reminds us to cling to what we know of God’s goodness and power. Disappointment and faith aren’t mutually exclusive; they can live together. They can peaceably coexist. Trusting in God doesn’t erase our pain, but it gives us hope that He can bring life out of even the most devastating losses. In moments of suffering, we must remember not to deny in the dark what we have learned in the light.

“Living in denial of tragedy, too many Christians live schizophrenic spiritual lives: outwardly smiling and brimming with trust and joy, but inwardly filled with doubts and anger,” Michael Horton writes. We ought to follow Martha’s example: “Bring him your doubts, frustration, and even anger. He can handle it. Remember the cross and God-forsakenness of the Beloved: God, too, knows how to sing the blues.” We don’t have to live that way. We can run out to Him as Martha did and give Him our pain and heartache. Moreover, the Bible promises a Day when there will be no more tears, mourning, or sadness (Rev. 21:4). Until that Day, we can shepherd our heartache, pain, and even our disappointments to Him while confidently saying through a shaking voice, “My God is good. This doesn’t feel good but I know He is working this for my good.”