Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:43-44 (NIV)
Lord Jesus, you spoke the words, “Come out!”, to a dead Lazarus, and he was raised from the dead. The same thing happened to us when you declared the gospel to our hearts. We passed from death to life; from condemnation for our sins, to being clothed with your righteousness; from slavery in the kingdom of darkness, unto freedom in the kingdom of God. For your sovereign, irresistible, resurrecting grace, we shout, Hallelujah!
Yet as surely as Lazarus needed to be freed from his grave clothes, so do we. The smell, signs, and habits of death still cling to us, bind us, and trip us up. We want to be freer and healthier, Jesus.
To be specific, Lord. We want greater freedom from what people think of us. Some people have more functional power over our hearts than your love does. Their criticism and rejection can devastate us; and their praise and appreciation can “make” us. May your unparalleled love for us, and your great delight in us, shift the center of our relational world.
We also crave freedom from our self-centered pursuits, our soul-sapping anxieties, and our anger-producing triggers. You have the hearts of all kings in your hand—as well as all of our days and pains, longings and burdens. Why do we fret, vex, and stew? Great and loving, King, liberate us.
Unbelief is the most tenacious fragment of grave clothes, still wrapped tightly around our hearts. We believe the gospel; help us to believe it SO much more, Jesus. Continue to topple our idols, and smash our broken cisterns, by being our greatest treasure.
Free us to trust you with all things and all people at all times, Jesus. Help us stay more alive to what we do have in you, than what we don’t have in life. So very Amen we pray, in your glorious and grace-full name.