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, as surely as you spoke the life-resuscitating words to a dead Lazarus, “Come out,” so when you spoke the gospel to our hearts, we too were raised to newness of life. We have passed from death to life, from condemnation for our sins to the righteousness of faith, and from life in the kingdom of darkness to life in the kingdom of God. Hallelujah, for your sovereign, irresistible, inexhaustible grace.
Yet as surely as Lazarus needed to be freed from his grave-clothes, so do we. The smell and signs of death still cling to us, bind us, and trip us up. There are many areas of our lives for which we long for greater freedom.
Jesus, grant us greater freedom from caring too much what people think of us. Some people have way more power over our hearts than you intend. Their criticism can shut us down, and their affirmation can give us life. May your great, unwavering love for us shift the center of our relational world.
We also crave to be set free from our faithless worries and soul-sapping fears. You have the hearts of all kings in your hand—not to mention our days and pain, longings and burdens, triggers and regrets. Make us freer, Jesus, and more peaceful and joyful.
Unbelief is still the most tenacious fragment of grave-clothes wrapped tightly around our hearts. Free us to trust you implicitly and explicitly—with all things, all people, at all times.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, help us stay more alive to your love than to our losses, and be more defined by your lavish grace than our lingering shame. So very Amen we pray, in your glorious and grace-full name.