It's all about perspective. The sinking of the Titanic was a miracle to the lobsters in the ship's kitchen.
According to Google, this was a joke told by someone on Twitter. The point of the joke is that life is all about perspective. There are those that see the glass half full and those that see the glass half empty. Which are you? As children of God, the bible says in this world we will face tribulation; when we face tribulation, what perspective do we see things through. The inspiration for this message came while I was listening to a message by Steven Furtick titled The Lazarus Factor (God of the Outcome).
In life, it is important that we have the right perspective in every situation. It is in having the right perspective that we are able to have faith regardless of the situation. In Rom. 8:28, the bible says 'all things are working for my good'. But how does one believe that when they've just lost a loved one or an opportunity? How does one believe that when the appointed time is still tarrying (Hab. 2:3)? The odd part of Hab. 2:3 is that in the same verse, it says: though it tarries and ends with it will not tarry. Weird much! The only way out of the conundrum that is this verse is to have the right perspective. You can either have the perspective that the vision is tarrying or you can have the perspective that it isn't yet the appointed time and when it is the appointed time, it will not tarry. Now let's get back to the story about Lazarus and Martha's perspective.
While the title of the message makes it seem that the focus of the message would have been about Lazarus, nothing could be farther from the truth. While Lazarus was mentioned, his sister, Martha was mentioned quite frequently. It was Martha that went to meet Jesus at the gate it was Martha that Jesus asked if she believed and it was also Martha that responded when Jesus asked for the stone to be rolled away. So, let's visit Act 1 Scene 1 of the movie titled The Death of Lazarus. In the first scene, we are introduced to the characters as they send a messenger to Jesus to tell Him that the one whom He loved was sick. See the angle they used, the one whom Jesus loved. This was meant to make Jesus hurry up to their town and heal him. What did Jesus do? He stayed for two more days! When He finally arrived at Martha's town, she marched straight to Him at the gate and..."Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died (John 11:21 NKJV)". First of all, even though it seemed like the appointed time had tarried she still saw Him as Lord. It is very important that regardless of the situation, our perspective on Jesus as our Lord and Savior should not change. And for Martha, even though she had just lost her brother, she still saw Him as Lord and then went a step further to say that she knows that whatever she asks of God, God will give her. She still believed!
As we go through life, it is important that we keep the right perspective. The right perspective is the one that still believes, the one that sees Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The one that believes that at the appointed time, it will not tarry. One person that came to my mind as I wrote this post is Horatio Spafford. He wrote one of the most influential songs ever 'It is well'. He wrote the song as his ship (yeah it was that long ago) sailed past the spot where the vessel that carried his wife and four daughters sank. Only his wife survived and she sent him a telegram with two, now famous, words "Saved alone". All this happened to him while he tried to recover from the losses to his business as a result of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. His perspective to all these events was 'It is well with my soul'. As Joel Osteen wrote in today’s devotional 'Delivered From All': When it feels as though you’re far behind, outnumbered, outsized and outclassed, instead of being discouraged, have a new perspective. What is your perspective?
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
