After a wonderful week of service in Jamaica, I was scheduled to begin flying home on Saturday, January 5. I don't know if you're like me but once I am headed home, I am ready to be there already. So I began my trek from Montego Bay to Atlanta. Once I arrived in Atlanta I had a six hour layover - leaving Atlanta for Norfolk at 9:45 and arriving home at 11:25. Being eager to get home as soon as I could, I began checking for earlier flights and what luck! I found one leaving at 4:20, just a few minutes away. I didn't even mind paying the extra $50 it cost to move my flight up.
I boarded the flight home excitedly, knowing that I would see my hubby sooner than expected. Now, you know things didn't go according to plan, or I wouldn't be writing about it. As we were pulling out of the gate, the pilots became aware of a problem with the air conditioning unit; it wouldn't turn off. Apparently, the reason the A/C cuts off as planes begin to leave is because the engine has to have a certain amount of pressure to start. With the A/C not cutting off, the engine didn't have the required pressure. So, we pulled back into the gate and waited for maintenance crews to fix the issue. While they were fixing the A/C that wouldn't turn off, they discover that there were some latches on the outside of the plane that needed to be replaced as well. 2 hours later, the pilot was telling us that both problems were fixed and we would be departing in about another 20 minutes (which was actually like another 40, but who was counting?)
Maybe you've been where I was: ready to be home already and see your spouse because you've been away for 10 days. If you have, then you can relate to the fact that every minute I sat on that plane waiting to depart, I became more and more irritated and impatient. Knowing that these repairs were for my safety did not make me more understanding - I just wanted to be home.
As I sat there festering, I began to think about the week I had just experienced and how God moved in great and mighty ways; and here I was sitting unchanged, like it had never happened. So I began to think of instances in the Bible where Jesus was irritated. That was easy. I could think of countless times where Jesus was irritated, from the disciples lack of faith to the money changers in the temple. But when I began to search for a time when Jesus was impatient, I came up short. Surely, He must have experienced this emotion because He was fully human. I started to look for references to things that were important to Him and then I came across the telling of Lazarus' death and resurrection in John 11.
Understand that the text never says, "Jesus was highly impatient," but if I were to place myself in His shoes in this story, I would be feeling a bit impatient. Picture it: your best friend is dying and by the time you arrive he has already been dead four days. People around you are saying insensitive things and then once you raise him from the dead, some plot to kill him again! I'm feeling a bit impatient and irritated just reading about it. That must have been a long journey to Bethany for Jesus. Of course, He knew that Lazarus was going to die before He arrived, why else would He have waited another two days before traveling there. But just because Jesus understood the purpose was to glorify God, doesn't mean He was exempt from the feelings that went along with Lazarus' death. We even see Jesus weeping before He raises him from the dead. Jesus is fully human and that means He has the same emotions we do.
Then, I began to think of the story from Mary and Martha's perspective (the sisters of Lazarus.) I can imagine their impatience as well. They send word to Jesus that Lazarus is on his death bed and instead of coming right away, Jesus waits another two days to leave. Can you imagine their feelings over those few days before Jesus' arrival? I'll bet they were feeling very impatient. "Where is He? My brother is dying! Jesus isn't going to make it in time!"
John 11 doesn't tell us what Jesus did while He was delaying and on His journey to Bethany, but I'm sure He did much of the same things He always did. I'll bet He preformed miracles, healed people, and was the same loving person He always was. If He had rushed away as soon as He got the news about Lazarus, many of those people may not have experienced Him.
Mary and Martha may have never know the reason for Jesus' delay, and I may never know the reason behind my flight being delayed, but both stories teach us that our time is not God's timing. He sees the big picture, and we don't have to have all the details to know that He is sovereign and His purposes are good. Perhaps my flight delay kept TJ from being in a car accident, or maybe someone was sharing Christ with another person on my flight and needed the extra time. I don't need to know the reason to know that God was over the situation.
Thinking through this on the plane helped to ease my irritation and impatience. Of course, I still wanted to be home immediately, but it was a great reminder that God is over all things, including my delayed flight. Hopefully the next time I am feeling impatient I will remember this lesson and focus on how the situation is going to bring God glory instead of my own timeline.
