David Jeremiah Daily Devotional (July 19, 2024) Exhilaration.
Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. - John 11:11
Recommended Reading: John 11:1-11 - THE DEATH OF LAZARUS - 11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Alexander Polli, a skydiver and base jumper, was asked why he risked his life. “To be quite honest,” he said, “I am extremely scared of dying.” Sadly, Polli perished in 2016 while trying to soar through the French Alps in a flying suit. He was 31.1
When we know Christ as Savior, we can soar in life with no fear of dying. Yes, we want to challenge ourselves and occasionally pump our adrenaline. We like adventure. But we also know Jesus Christ is able to satisfy our inner craving for significance and excitement. We can say with Paul, “But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:22-23).
When Jesus healed His friend Lazarus, He demonstrated His power over death. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). There’s no exhilaration like knowing Him, and no security like knowing that He will certainly awaken all those who fall asleep in Christ.
Even death holds no terror because he is the Living One who has conquered death and holds it in his power. - Robert Mounce
