Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, 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 11:38-44
Limitless
Daily Devotion – April 1, 2023
Devotion based on John 11:38-44
See series: Devotions
We all deal with limits. There are limitations to our abilities. As much as we try, we cannot go beyond our finite natures. We can make better and bigger machines to improve ways things get done, but one day they will prove inadequate and have to be replaced. We can push ourselves physically to go faster and harder and farther, but finally there is a limit to what we can do. We strive in many ways to live longer, but the truth is that there is a set limit to our life on this earth. All the graves in cemeteries are signs of that serious limitation.
We are limited, but Jesus is not. He is God, who is limitless in his power and abilities. Even death is not a limit for him. His commanding voice demanded that death release its grip on Lazarus—and it did!
There is no limit to Jesus’ love. He loved us in such a limitless way that he surrendered himself to death and the grave for us. But death could not hold him. He came out of the grave; he rose from the dead to prove that he is almighty God. By his resurrection, he assures us he is limitless in his love for us as our living Savior.
One day, he will shout again, “Come out!” and graves will lose their limited grip. Jesus promised, “Because I live, you also with live.” Only the Son of God has the limitless ability to accomplish what he said. Count on it, and you will see the glory of God!
Prayer:
Jesus, strengthen my faith in you as my living Lord and loving Savior. Fill me with the confidence that you are limitless in your power and love, and assure me with your promise that you will raise me from death to live with you forever. Amen.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
