How are things going for you? God says that "--my grace is enough; its all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness" (2corinthians 12: 9 - Message). That sure does help! Let's see how you can rise up in faith and walk in the reality of this promise of Almighty God today.

You may have reached a dead end like Mary and Martha in John chapter 11. Have you ever heard of someone filing under Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law? That means you are totally broke and engaged  in a last ditch effort for survival. You have reached the bottom of the barrel. In the 11th chapter of the book of John we find that Lazarus was really dead. They prayed, sent messages and waited for Jesus to come heal him but by the time he got there, Lazarus was four days dead leaving two grieving sisters. A big crowd of mourners had gathered at their home. This is a typical Christian setting where people pray and hope something will happen but it seems Jesus is always away when they most need him! Do you perhaps think the Lord is too late to assist you today? We need to know that Jesus is ready to help now!

When Jesus finally appeared Martha said "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died" (John 11:21 MSG). This was a very serious allegation but was it true? In Luke 7, we find the account of a centurion whose servant was sick and this is what he said when Jesus offered to visit his home and heal the servant "I am not even worthy to come and meet You. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed." (Luke 7:7 NLT).Great!

It follows that Jesus can sort out our problem right here and now, today. This is what he told Martha "You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live". (John 11:25 MSG). Rather than defend his reputation, Jesus clarified that he is life and resurrection; always on time, never too late.

Eventually, Martha said "Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world." (John 11:27 MSG). Do you realize this was a very profound statement? It was the very same confession that Peter had made in Matthew 16:16.  God had revealed to her the secret of who Jesus really was. This is the key to the Kingdom of God that opens every door and removes all barriers! But before he could explain this to her as he did with Peter, Martha left him there and rushed to call her sister. Now, we really need to learn to be still in the presence of Jesus if we want to get out of tough situations. Some patience and courtesy could help, what do you say?

Jesus did not move from that spot. Lazarus remained dead. The sisters were still grieving. I see that someone can stay in a hopeless chapter 11 situation for too long at no fault of Jesus! Remember that what we are discussing here is all too typical in ordinary peoples lives. As a matter of fact, the bible says early on that Jesus was a friend to this family. But that sure was not helping much! The Lord stood there until Martha came back with her sister Mary. Thank God she came back! It was a tough situation in that place. You would have thought people would be so glad to see Jesus but all they were doing is complain about dead Lazarus. One can say that the Lord finally got fed up with the goings on and said:

"Remove the stone." The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead four days!" (John 11:39 MSG).

That was a simple set of instructions, right? Jesus did not tell them to raise Lazarus or do some other difficult task. He asked they do something to demonstrate their faith in him. When they obeyed, Lazarus was finally raised from the dead. To rise up in faith and turnaround a tough situation, we need to observe the following:

1. Receive Jesus as a both a friend and the Messiah, son of the living God.
2. Believe like the centurion that Jesus is able to help even though we cannot see him. This is walking by faith.
3. Keep our eyes and ears on the Lord only and obey his instructions

Then we will see our situation change dramatically. "That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him." (John 11:45 MSG)