Come Forth!

Have you ever felt like you were wrapped up in grave clothes, unable to break free?  You’ve walked a hard, disappointing path.  The life has left your body; your spirit feels crushed.  You get up and do what you need to do, but without energy.  Today Jesus wants to breathe His life into you.  He says, “It’s time to come forth!”  It’s time lay aside the grave clothes of doubt, discouragement and despair, and come alive.  It’s time to be free from the bondage that has held you captive for so long. 

The enemy has wrapped his grave clothes around you.  Negative thoughts swirl around your mind.  You feel suffocated by a demonic cloud of confusion.  You feel stuck inside yourself, banging on the outer wall of your own soul, but unable to break free.  These wounds may be rooted in your childhood, no fault of your own.  You feel trapped, but you can be free!  God has not called you to remain in this tomb.  It is for freedom that He sets you free! (Gal. 5:1)    

In John Chapter 11, Jesus knew that Lazarus, the one he loved, was sick.  He had within His power to go to him and immediately heal him.  But he chose instead to wait.  His reason?  So He would be glorified.  When Jesus finally arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.  “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (vs. 21)    

Sometimes it seems that God waits and delays.  We pray, fast, cry out to Him.  We live in expectation of His deliverance.  We persist, longing for the freedom we know that He offers.  Yet, the enemy seems all the more persistent in keeping us in our grave clothes.  Lord, if you would just do something, I wouldn’t be stuck here.  But Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  (vs. 25)  Jesus weeps over our condition.  He is moved with compassion.  He steps up to our tomb.  He says, “Take away the stone.”  (vs. 39)  Yes, the odor of our condition is bad.  But Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  (vs. 40)

“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.’” (vs. 43-44)

I know that the journey towards freedom can be difficult.  The struggle towards freedom can seem unending, but it is not impossible.  Often it is a process of walking with God and trusting Him.  Sometimes freedom is hard-won, but victory is yours!  You can be free.  You can be whole.  You can be delivered.  Reach out to God today and believe that His glory will be revealed in your life.  It’s time to come forth!