And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, “The Master is come, and calleth for thee.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” (John 11:28-32 KJV)
Before Lazarus had died, these sisters had sent a message to Jesus, asking him to come right away. They didn’t know why he had not come. Now, Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. The sisters are languishing under the clouds of grief and sorrow.
Martha hears that Jesus is just outside of town and runs to greet him. After her conversation with Jesus, she hurries back to the house to inform Mary that he has arrived. Think about what Martha whispered to her sister. “The Master is here and is calling for you.” And when Mary hears Martha’s words, the clouds of grief rolls back for a moment of clear skies.
Note the immediacy of Mary’s response to the Master’s call. Even though Jesus had not yet come into town or to their house, Mary didn’t wait. In effect, she stopped waiting for him to respond to her call and immediately responded to his.
We make our requests to the Lord, but He doesn’t always respond just when we want or exactly like we want. Perhaps, this Martha & Mary story might be a lesson for us. Yes, the Master had to be notified and these sister did that. We notify the Lord of our needs through prayer, but once He is notified, how do we then live until He responds? This was the dilemma Martha and Mary lived with for four days.
One thing for certain, Martha and Mary did not give up. And when the Master arrived, they responded immediately. Today, the Master is calling you to come from where you are to where He is. How will you respond?
Dear Father, thank you for calling us. Empower us with enduring faith to trust your solutions for our circumstances. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the Master’s call,