Jesus had just miraculously fed over five thousand people with five loaves and two fish.

It was now getting late, and Jesus had sent the crowds home. As for his disciples — he made them get into a boat and sent them to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus himself went up on a mountain to pray.

But while Jesus was praying, a storm was raging.

The disciples’ boat was in the middle of the sea being tossed around by the wind. This continued all night long.

Finally, about four o’ clock in the morning, they saw it. Jesus was coming to them — walking across the sea. They thought it was a ghost and were terrified.

But Jesus said “Relax, it’s just me”.

Peter said, “If it’s you Lord, tell me to come out on the water”.

“Come”.

So Peter got out of the boat and walked on water, at least for a moment. He looked and saw the wind and the waves and was afraid and began to sink. Immediately Jesus pulled him out of the water and they got into the boat.

The wind stopped.

And in that little boat, the disciples worshiped Jesus saying: “Truly, you are the Son of God“.

Jesus as a rule, is usually late.
At least by our standards.

Have you ever experienced this scenario before?
You are in some kind of crisis. You pray and call out to God. And suprisingly, you don’t see the answer materialize immediately. It seems like your life and your emotions are tossed around. And you wonder, “Where is Jesus?”

The Lord does show up. He does deliver us. He is on the scene. But the timing? Why does He tend to show up at the last minute? Does Jesus enjoy making us squirm? What’s the deal anyways?

Jesus explains himself a bit in the story of Lazarus.

Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha were close friends of Jesus. One day Lazarus came down with a very serious illness, and so Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus asking him to come. At the time, Jesus and his disciples were a couple of days journey away.

Jesus heard the news and said:”This sickness isn’t going to result in death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Then he stayed for TWO more days in the place where he was at. By the time that Jesus had arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. Once again, it seemed like Jesus was a little bit late.

Martha and Mary both said: “Lord, if you would have been here, our brother would not have died.”

But Jesus never fails, he never disappoints. Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus and did something that had never been done before: He made a dead man walk out of a tomb alive.

Lazarus became a bit of a celebrity. Many people came from all around just to see him with their own eyes. Lazarus, the man who was dead but now was alive. And when people heard the story and saw Lazarus with their own eyes, many came to believe in Jesus.

You see, Jesus’ timing has little do with our comfort, and much to do with His glory.

As westerners, as Americans, we are hooked on this idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have bought the false concept that God’s purpose is to make us comfortable, happy and safe at all times. That God is like some hovering mother, making sure we don’t scrape any knees or experience any discomfort.

God is not your mother. God does not exist to meet our every whim and save us from drama.

As a society we have also bought into the concept that everything is about us. We want everything personalized to our tastes and whims — from the music that plays on our i-pods to the apps on our smart phones. We can take this self-worshiping attitude with us into our Christianity — believing that God is working very hard to ensure that we “get” something personal out of each sermon we hear, and that we “feel” his presence at all times in a way that suits us.

Yes, Jesus loves me, but the story isn’t about me.

Our story is about His glory.

Jesus comes at the last minute (or in Lazarus’ case, four days late) — not to make life difficult, but to reveal His goodness, His love, His power. To cause us to trust Him and to cause others to believe in Him when they see his mighty works.

Jesus comes towards the end of the storm, walking on water — that we might worship Him, and realize that He truly is the Son of God.

When you are in crisis, and it seems like Jesus isn’t coming through — trust Him. He isn’t trying to kill you, He is trying to reveal Himself to you and to the world around you through your story. Because your story, is really about His glory.

When God allows pain in your life, when it doesn’t seem like he is coming through, when you pray for loved ones that don’t recover — Jesus isn’t trying to ruin your life. He is using your story for His glory.

When you see the provision of the Lord after a trying time of waiting — you will worship Jesus, marveling at his glory.

What if we viewed our hardships, our waiting, in a different light?

What if we changed our thinking from “Why doesn’t God do something?” to
“Lord, use this waiting, use this suffering for your glory” — or
“Lord, teach me who you are while I wait for you.”

Yes, Jesus will show up. It probably will not be when you think it should be. We can trust Him, to do what is good for us, and what will bring glory to Himself.

Our story is about His glory.