Take Away the Stone of Pride and Embarrassment!

Daily Devotional – Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Take away the stone.
John 11:39 (NKJV)

After a four-day delay, Jesus arrives at the home of the deceased Lazarus. Jesus is sad and weeps because Lazarus was His friend. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ siblings, are grieving, but they have come to terms with their brother’s death. However, they still feel that Jesus has let them down.

Jesus, though, is keen to prove that He has power over death. He assures everyone that Lazarus will live again. Of course, there is a lot of skepticism. After all, Lazarus has been dead for four days now.

Get Rid of that stone

One obstacle stands between Jesus and a resurrected Lazarus—the stone that covers the tomb. Jesus instructs, “Take away the stone.” (John 11:39). Martha, assuming Jesus does not appreciate the gravity of the matter, tells Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” (Verse 39).

Martha wants to spare everyone the stench of death. In so doing, she is preventing God from performing a life-giving miracle that will bring joy to everyone. Sometimes, we innocently impede our blessings because we do not want to expose the rot in our lives. We refuse to come to Jesus because we fear God will not accept us.

Only acknowledge your iniquity

For God to forgive and restore us, He gives us this condition: “Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God.” (Jeremiah 3:13). We need to open our hearts to Jesus and expose the rot in them. When we acknowledge that, without Christ, we are dead, Jesus performs the miracle that transforms us into born-again Christians.

Unless we set aside our pride and shame and take away the stone blocking Jesus from our hearts, we will not experience the resurrecting power of Jesus in our lives. Remember, if we are not born again, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Take Away the Stone!

Do not wait until you feel good enough to surrender to Jesus. Jesus does not ask you to become righteous before you come to Him. Rather, He wants you to come to Him so that He makes you righteous. Take away the stone preventing Jesus from coming into your heart.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, I accept Your call. I am now taking away the stone of pride and embarrassment that covers my heart. Come and make me clean.