Living in the Presence of the Resurrection (Weekly Devotional)
Monday | February 23, 2026
When Love Delays
Read John 11:1-6
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
Devotion:
"Jesus loved them, so he stayed." This sentence defies our expectations. We assume love means immediate action, swift rescue, urgent response. Yet Jesus demonstrates a love so profound it can withstand the agony of waiting. His delay wasn't indifference—it was intentional. Sometimes God's love looks like staying when we expect running, like silence when we pray for answers. The two-day delay wasn't a failure of love but a function of it. Jesus was preparing something greater than healing; he was orchestrating resurrection. Today, if you're in a season of delay, consider this: God's timing doesn't measure His affection. His love for you is not diminished by His apparent distance. He is working something eternal in the waiting.
What delay are you currently experiencing? Can you trust that God's love is present even in the silence?
What delay are you currently experiencing? Can you trust that God's love is present even in the silence?
Tuesday | February 24, 2026
The "If Only" Prison
Read John 11:17-27
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Devotion:
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha's words echo through every disappointed heart. We live haunted by "if only" thoughts—if only we'd acted sooner, prayed harder, made different choices. But Jesus doesn't engage Martha's "if only." Instead, He offers her an "I am." He redirects her gaze from the missed opportunity of yesterday to the present reality of His presence today. Jesus isn't asking us to deny our pain or pretend the loss didn't happen. He's inviting us to shift our focus from what might have been to who is standing with us now. The great "I AM" is more powerful than all our "if onlys" combined. Resurrection isn't just a future hope; it's a present person standing in your grief.
What "if only" statement keeps you bound? How might Jesus be inviting you to exchange it for His "I am"?
What "if only" statement keeps you bound? How might Jesus be inviting you to exchange it for His "I am"?
Wednesday | February 25, 2026
The Four-Day Tomb
Read John 11:38-44
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Devotion:
Four days. In Jewish tradition, this was the point of no return—when hope was officially buried. Yet Jesus specifically waited for this moment. He didn't want to merely heal Lazarus; He wanted to demonstrate that no situation is beyond His power to redeem. We all have "four-day" areas in our lives—the relationships we've given up on, the dreams we've declared dead, the parts of ourselves we've sealed behind stone. "It stinks," Martha protests, and she's right. But Jesus isn't deterred by the smell of death. He calls life from the graveyard. The very place you're most ashamed of, the situation that seems most hopeless, is exactly where He wants to reveal His glory. No tomb is too sealed, no death too final for the One who is resurrection itself.
What "four-day tomb" in your life needs Jesus to speak life into it? Are you willing to roll away the stone?
What "four-day tomb" in your life needs Jesus to speak life into it? Are you willing to roll away the stone?
Thursday | February 26, 2026
Jesus Wept
Read John 11:28-37
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Devotion:
Two words that change everything: "Jesus wept." He knew He was about to raise Lazarus. He understood the ending. Yet He still stopped to weep. This reveals the heart of God—He doesn't bypass our pain to get to the miracle. He enters into it. Jesus doesn't offer us stoic spirituality that demands we suppress our emotions. He models a faith that makes space for tears. When you weep, He weeps. When your heart breaks, His breaks with you. You are never alone in your grief. The God who numbers your tears is the same God who has the power to wipe them away. But first, He sits with you in the sorrow. This is the tender heart of the One who holds all power—He is moved by your pain even when He's about to transform it.
Have you allowed yourself to grieve honestly before God? Can you receive the comfort of knowing He weeps with you?
Have you allowed yourself to grieve honestly before God? Can you receive the comfort of knowing He weeps with you?
Friday | February 27, 2026
Unwrapping the Grave Clothes
Read John 11:43-44; Colossians 3:1-10
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Devotion:
Lazarus emerged alive but still bound. Jesus performed the miracle only He could do—calling life from death—then invited the community to participate: "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." Resurrection is personal, but freedom is communal. Many of us are alive in Christ yet still shuffling around in grave clothes—bound by old shame, past failures, familiar fears. We need each other to unwrap what still binds us. God raises us; community helps free us. This is the beautiful design of the body of Christ. We don't just celebrate someone's resurrection; we help them walk in it. And we allow others to help us shed the burial wrappings we've worn too long. Today, you are invited to both receive help and offer it—to be unwrapped and to be an unwrapper.
What "grave clothes" are you still wearing? Who can you invite to help you remove them? Who around you needs help walking in their freedom?
What "grave clothes" are you still wearing? Who can you invite to help you remove them? Who around you needs help walking in their freedom?
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