Circumstantial Deceit

Read: John 11:1-44

“Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”

John 11:14-15

“Real trust in God is above circumstances and appearances.”

—George Müller

IN WORD Circumstances don’t get much worse than this. The loved one Mary and Martha had been praying for had died. Jesus was four days late and under fire from those who had come to expect miracles. Mary’s pointed words are sadly resentful: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 32). Defeat apparently reigned.

But circumstances don’t tell the whole story. How often in the Gospels were appearances deceiving? Wind and waves threatened to capsize a boat; thousands hungered; disease ravaged its helpless victims; demons held hopeless captives. And, don’t forget, God was executed by men. In all of these situations, those who stared at the problems despaired. Those who stared at the Truth found hope. And hope was fulfilled.

An acquaintance of George Müller once told a story of going from England to Quebec for an important engagement. The ship was stuck in the North Atlantic fog and Müller was told by the captain he would by no means make it to his meeting on schedule. Müller’s response? “My eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.” The fog cleared.^a

IN DEED Our human tendency is to feel trapped by visible situations. But circumstantial evidence is not the truth of a matter. It is deceptive. God’s assessment is always the truth of every situation. And it doesn’t include our being trapped by superficial appearances.

Are circumstances threatening what you know to be God’s plan? They lie. As surely as the North Atlantic fog lifted, and as surely as Lazarus was raised, circumstances are unreliable measures of reality. God’s plan, when believed, is immovable. Those who focused on their problems in the Gospels found those problems to be overwhelming. Those who focused on Jesus found their problems to be illusory. Focus on Jesus. There is no deceit in Him. Just ask Lazarus.

^a Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1965), 256–257.

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