Sequel to “The Release Before The Release”
Although the freedom to express His emotions was a big enough occurrence, it certainly was not where the story ended. It was a defining moment that preceded the miracle…
In the post, “The Release Before The Release,” I spoke on how release of emotion:
i. Is an act of surrender
ii. Strengthens us spiritually
iii. Breaks the chains of societal expectations that are not in alignment with God’s will for us
iv. Creates room for the power within us to be activated
So, what we are saying is, when we surrender to God through emotional vulnerability, we are strengthened spiritually because we get close enough to Him to realize that He understands our pain and our doubts. Positioned as such, the cords of societal expectations will no longer have us in bondage because we cease to operate by the standards of the world. With a refined perspective of the purpose in the pain, power to live in one’s status as triumphant is unleashed.
Now, the unleashing of power in the fourth phase is where our hearts are today. It can be a very intimidating stage because:
a) We might rush past it out of the fear of wallowing in our pain or in a bid to prove a point
b) We may procrastinate it in a bid to not disregard the depths of our pain
When you rush past your “Jesus wept” moment, you risk prematurely releasing something else or making requests from a place of tainted intent. John 11 vs 35 is where Jesus wept but John 11 vs 43-44 is where Lazarus comes out of the tomb as per the command of Jesus Christ. In-between these chapters, Jesus had to listen to the people around Him question His power.
“How could he have raised the dead to life but failed to heal His own friend before he died,” were some of the statements uttered by those around Him. Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to be raised from the dead but did not give into the back and forth that could have arisen between him and the mourners. His ego could have wanted Him to prove Himself but He knew that His purpose was to bring eternal impact, and so He waited it out.
Conversely, He could have as well dragged the release of the miracle for longer from a place of hurt. After hearing what the people were saying about Him, Jesus could have opted to reverse and go to a nearby mountain so as to have a conversation with God on why He would allow Him to be ridiculed by those He was to later on die for. If He were a member of the “petty saints” association, then He would have withheld Lazarus’ resurrection because the people whom He desired that they see God through every one of His deeds, had seen and heard of his miracles but remained bent on their narratives. There was a risk they wouldn’t believe Him either way but His purpose rang louder.
Knowing when to launch the comeback after a very heavy setback, can be a quite daunting and confusing task. You have already faced disappointment, you have already carried the weight of the shame and the guilt and at that point, you might not even be sure if you heard right from God or if you’re the right man for the job. However, looking at the space between John 11 vs 35 and John 11 vs 44, gives us wisdom that will aid us in individually continuing with our mission and launching the missile, when the time is right.
Scripture makes it known to us in John 11 vs 34 that Jesus was already on his way to Lazarus’ tomb when he wept in John 11 vs 35, which means that the release came while he was on His “journey.” Now I cannot say for sure whether Jesus stopped to cry or cried as He walked but one thing that I know for sure is that He had already seen the disbelief in the hearts of the mourners and that could have been enough for Him to drop the mission all in all. After all these people didn’t trust him anyway.
If the rather subtle signs of disbelief from Mary and Martha, weren’t enough evidence for him that the air was filled with doubt at resurrection before Christ’s return being a possibility, then John 11 vs 37 would have been enough to solidify this as some of the Jews said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” So, the mourners doubted Him, period.
Jesus didn’t fake His frustration or anger at this, He wept, but His weeping did not take away from His mission. If anything, it enriched it, for even though the mission was for the glory of God to be shown as He knew it to be, a cultural shift that would be speak to several succeeding generations took place. There really was humanity in His divinity.
Through His "faithing it," we too are empowered to remain on our path, even if we have to walk a season where the puddles beneath our feet carry our tears.
2. Take away the stone
In this context, “faithing it” is acknowledging that you are perturbed by events but still keeping pursuit. However, we do need to remember that it is seasonal because there comes a time when you need to stop and activate the power that is within you. You cannot keep wandering aimlessly in the name of “moving on,” lest you pass a place of purpose.
In John 11 vs 38, Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ tomb after having to keep on in His walk, despite the murmurings of the mourners. Motion served him in one stage of this grand process but stillness was His weapon in His present. In verse 39 of John 11, Jesus commanded that the stone be taken away. The stone was what stood between His faith in what God could do and the reality of Lazarus’ death, thereby, rolling away the stone would mean faith coming face to face with the fact of Lazarus’ death.
We don’t stop at the place of pain bore from insults or disappointments; we proceed with our journey. Nevertheless, we proceed with purpose, knowing that we will need to unleash that which is within us. This is an extremely nerve wrecking phase which sounds easier said than done, for you are confronting that which has led you to cry and think of retreating or stay stagnant. You may think that it was easier for Jesus; who was one with God to order that the stone be rolled away because He knew how the story ended, and it probably was, but you too can put it on God’s tab.
It was never for Moses to turn his staff into a snake (Exodus 4 vs 3), and judging by his history as a murderer, his righteousness scores would have been looking rather interesting; but thank God that his task was limited to him throwing his staff onto the ground, for through Him we too are reminded that our task lies in rolling away the stone.
3. Release and Unleash
In John 11 vs 43 vs 44, the promise is fulfilled as Lazarus comes out of the tomb and is unwrapped from his grave clothes. Jesus doesn’t sugar-coat his command for scripture tells us that shouts for Lazarus to come out. He had gone through enough ridicule from the mourners for Him to be “playing cute” with the activation of this miracle. Every step of this journey had proved that the miracle was a necessity and not a means to pass time by.
That very character of the Lion of the tribe of Judah lives within you and will not take anything less than an authoritative release of the miracle. You too have gone through enough ebbs and cried countless rivers for you to stand timid before that “Lazarus” of yours. Release and unleash it.
I differentiate the two because you can physically release something and bring it to light but it can still be bound and fail to thrive in freedom. It wasn’t enough for Lazarus to come out of the grave, his grave clothes still needed to be removed. You too need to detach every title or any element of sort that gave power to the “hurt.”
· Stop personalizing it
· Stop giving it the director’s seat in your life
I can neither put a timeline to your “walk” past the release of emotion nor give you a map with the “X” that marks the spot where the stone you need to roll away is, let alone tell you what to say when you release and unleash. Nonetheless, I can tell you that there is a release of power after your release of emotion. Therefore, it is okay for you to cry when you need to or release emotion in the healthiest way you know to, for it is the dawn of a new horizon.
Her progressing heart
Pretty Conscience