One of the most common struggles in the Christian life is the tension between what we ask God for and what He actually does. When prayers go unanswered in the way we hoped, we are tempted to conclude that God either does not love us enough or is not powerful enough to help. But Scripture is clear that God is both fully loving and fully powerful. The real problem is not with Him. It is with the expectations we bring to Him. Just as Jesus' own brothers in John 7 questioned His strategy and assumed He should be doing things differently, we often approach God with our solutions already mapped out and grow frustrated when He does not follow our plan.

The story of Lazarus in John 11 offers one of the most powerful illustrations of how God works. Jesus deliberately delayed His arrival, allowing Lazarus to die, because He had a greater purpose in m ...