Sometimes it feels like we've been buried. Life is dark. You feel the weight of 6 foot of dirt and stones laying on top of you. I can't help but wonder if Lazarus while laying in his tomb being called forth felt the weight of darkness and death upon him. He wasn't buried- it was customary in that time to clean and anoint the body, wrap it in burial clothes, and then lay it to rest in a tomb or cave, blocking off the area around the dead to keep it from scavengers, so he wouldn't have felt the 6ft of dirt like we imagine in our traditional burials , but if you've ever lost a loved one, you know death in and of itself can be heavy. Which leads me back to thinking of Lazarus, laying dead, wrapped in his burial clothes, surrounded by stones, when in what everyone around him thought was his final sleep, he hears a voice call to him.
LAZARUS COME FORTH! (John 11:43)
And upon hearing the voice of his friend, and Lord, he came out of the grave.
But what gets me, is that HOW he came out.
He didn't run.
He didn't leap.
He didn't burst forth triumphant and free.
He came out bound, grave clothes still wrapped around him. His hands and feet still tied, his face still covered.
Alive, but not fully free.
And that part feels all too familiar to me. And if we're being honest, it probably feels familiar to you as well.
There have been seasons when God has called me back to life- called me forward- before everything was healed, before some wounds were even tended to, before every layer trauma, fear, and doubt were removed.
Lazarus wasn't unbound before he was called forth, he wasn't unbound til after he answered the call.
And that's what God has been teaching me about RISING
I don't feel ready.
I'm not fully healed.
I'm not fully strong, fully confident, fully unburdened.
But through Lazarus, God teaches me something different.
Jesus didn't call out "Get yourself together and then come forth"
He didn't wait for Lazarus to be unbound, He simply called his name.
And Lazarus responded.
And that's what 2026 feels like for me.
God calling me forward - not because everything is perfect - but because it's time.
He's calling me to RISE.
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