Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 11. John chapter 11.

For those of you visiting with us, we are in the middle of a series on the name, the son of God in the gospel of John. We’ve been coming through John’s gospel all year. We began in January and we’ve been going verse by verse. But as we got to chapter five, where Jesus begins to call himself and reveal that he is the son of God, we pause to see what it is that that name means. what that name tells us about who Jesus is. And we’ve seen several places in John already. This is the sixth sermon in this series on this name. And we are now in chapter 11.

And this morning we will focus on the glory of the Son, the glory of God revealed in the Son of God. So as we think about that, we need to stop and consider What does glory mean? What is glory and what does it mean that glory is revealed? Glory we often think of as it’s that superlative attribute of God, that thing that makes Him over and above everything else. It is His greatness in comparison to creation. And that greatness is immeasurable. We can’t even tell how much greater God is than His creation. As Peter used the word, majesty. to describe what he saw there on the Mount of Transfiguration as Jesus’ glory was most fully revealed in his humanity.

The glory of God is kind of a big deal in the Bible. It’s kind of the whole point. Everything in the Bible points us to how glorious God is. In fact, you could say that the most important theme in the whole universe is the glory of God. It is the underlying purpose for all that God does, to point us to his glory. From the creation of the world, we see his glory, to the redemption of fallen sinners, even in the judgment of unbelievers for eternity in hell. We see God’s glory revealed, and what is it that we most look forward to in eternity other than the glory of God being revealed with our presence with Him forever? It’s all about the glory of God. In fact, as we read earlier to open the service, the Bible calls God the God of glory. In Psalm 29, as we read, the voice of Yahweh is upon the waters, the God of glory thunders. And we even see each of the persons of the Trinity ascribed this glory of God.

God the Father is called the Father of Glory in Ephesians 1. As Paul is praying for believers, he says he desires that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and of full knowledge of him.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God. is called the Lord of Glory. As Paul in 1 Corinthians says that none of the rulers of this age has understood because if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

We also see the Holy Spirit described as the Spirit of Glory in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 14. Peter, encouraging persecuted believers, says if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you’re blessed. Because the spirit of glory rests on you. That is God’s glory.

And God’s glory is his alone. And as we read in Isaiah, he does not share it with anyone else. God is a jealous God and he does not share his glory with anybody. Isaiah 42 verse 8, I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images or idols. And then again in Isaiah 48 verse 11, for my own sake, for my own sake I will act. For how can my name be profaned and my glory I will not give to another?” Earlier in Isaiah chapter 6, we see that the whole earth is full of His glory.

Over and over again, the Bible tells us about the glory of God and how He is revealing His glory. The most gracious and complete revelation of the glory of God is seen in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As we read in John chapter 1, as we came through the prologue of John’s Gospel, as he’s describing who it is that he’s going to tell us about, he says that the Word became flesh. and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. Glory is of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Son of God is the full revelation of the glory of God. Colossians says He is the image of the invisible God.

If you want to know what God looks like, look at Christ. You want to see the glory of God, look at Jesus. As Hebrews tells us, He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. The glory of God is the greatness, the over and above greatness of God, and Jesus Christ is the revelation of that. He is the radiance. He is how we know how glorious God is. And this morning, we see that glory on display in John chapter 11. Again, we’re moving through the gospel of John, tracing the use of the name, the Son of God. And last week we were in chapter 10, where we saw the unity of the Son. And we saw that the Son is not only equal with the Father in His actions and authority, like we saw in chapter 5, but we also saw that the Son is united with the Father in His purpose. In why he’s doing what he’s doing. He is united. He and the Father are one.

Specifically in the eternal purpose of God in our salvation. And we saw that just as the Father has chosen and purposed a specific people for salvation, even so the Son has been given those specific people and has redeemed them. We saw in John chapter six, verses 64 and 65, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe. How did he know? Because those who believed were given to him. And who it was who would betray him. And he was saying, for this reason I have said to you, no one comes to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father. And as we saw in chapter 10, he confronts the unbelieving Jews in front of him who are persecuting him and trying to kill him. And he says, you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. The sheep believe because they have been chosen and purposed and enabled to do so. And the Father and the Son, and the Spirit for that matter, are united in their one saving purpose. And today we move on to another use of the name, the Son of God, and another revelation about the Son. And the next use of the name appears in the very next chapter here, chapter 11.

Actually the name Son of God appears twice here in chapter 11. So we’ll be here this week and next week as we see today the glory of the Son. And next week we will look at the power of the Son. And the raising of Lazarus is what John chapter 11 is about. And that sign is the most powerful sign Jesus performs in John’s gospel. John again structures his gospel around these signs that point to who Jesus is. They reveal who Jesus is because of what he can do. And they show us Jesus’ identity, and today we’ll see his glory. And again, this is the seventh and most significant sign before Jesus’ crucifixion. And this sign demonstrates his power over death and the grave. But we’ll get to that next week. But it’s not only his power over the grave for himself, but also for all who believe.

And here in John chapter 11, verses 1 through 16 really serve as the background and the setting for what’s about to take place with Lazarus. But it is not just irrelevant contextual details. We’ll see a lot revealed to us about the son here in verses one through 16 of John chapter 11. That will be our text for this morning. We see a lot, again, revealed here about the purpose of suffering, about why Jesus delays before he goes to Lazarus, about Jesus’ love for his friends and for his people. And most importantly, we see the glory of the Son revealed. And really the central verse of this passage is verse four, where Jesus says, this sickness is not to end in death, but it is for the glory of God, so that the Son may be glorified by it.

So we see that Lazarus’ illness and eventually his death and resurrection were all on purpose. They were according to God’s purpose. There was a reason behind it all. And as we study these first 16 verses, we will look at the way Jesus reveals his glory to us. And we’ll look at three different ways in which he does reveal that glory. And they really follow the three statements of Jesus in this passage. We’ll see the purpose of the son in verses one through four. The purpose that he has in this whole episode with Lazarus. And then secondly, we see the perseverance of the son as he is faced with persecution and unfavorable circumstances. He perseveres. And then lastly, we’ll see the plan of the son. That this is all according to his divine plan.

So allow me to read for us this morning, John chapter 11, verses 1 through 16. This is the word of the Lord. Now, a certain man was sick. Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. But when Jesus heard this, he said, this sickness is not to end in death, but it is for the glory of God so that the son may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he then stayed two days in the place where he was.

Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and are you going there again? Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. He said these things, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go so that I may awaken him. The disciples then said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved from his sickness. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he was speaking of actual sleep. So Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I’m glad for your sakes that I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. Therefore Thomas, who is also called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, let us go so that we may die with him.

Again, this is the introduction or setup to Jesus coming to Lazarus, who does die, and he does raise him from the dead, as we well know. But in this introductory section of this chapter, we do see the glory of the Son revealed, first of all, in the purpose of the Son. Again, you see the details in the first two verses here. Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany. You see the introduction of the details. This detail is important because Bethany is not very far from the heart of Jewish and religious political life. They’re not very far from where Jesus was just persecuted. It points to the upcoming confrontation that he will have. We see that Bethany is the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.

Again, we see that these sisters are introduced and then John says, it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. Whose brother Lazarus was sick. So again, an emphasis on the main character of this story, Lazarus. Lazarus is a name who That means God has helped. Comes from the Old Testament name Eleazar. And verse two points us to Mary’s act of anointing Jesus, which doesn’t happen in John’s gospel till the next chapter. But John is writing to a group that knows these stories well. And they know who Mary and Martha and Lazarus are. And he’s reminding them of which Mary he’s talking about. Because there’s a few Marys in the life of Jesus, as we know. But again, this story begins with Lazarus being ill. And there’s a problem that prepares the way for the glory of the Son to be revealed. And in verse 3, we see, the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. They want Jesus to know that his friend, the one whom he loves, is sick. And interestingly, they don’t ask him to come and heal him. They just tell him that he’s sick.

But as we read the rest of the chapter, it’s pretty clear that they assumed that he would come heal him. Because when he does get there, they said, well, if you were here, why didn’t you come? You could have healed him, that’s why we sent for you. So they don’t ask him in verse three to come and heal him, but you can see that that’s what they want. It’s like when your wife tells you that something around the house is broken. She didn’t ask you to fix it, but she asked you to fix it. In the same way, these women don’t ask Jesus to come and heal Lazarus, but they really do. They want him to come and heal him. In verse four, we see that when Jesus heard this, he said, this sickness is not to end in death, but it is for the glory of God, so that the son may be glorified by it. Again, this is the central point of this passage. Jesus connects this suffering, not only for Lazarus, but what will become the suffering of this family and of Jesus himself. He connects that all with the glory of God.

This is for the glory of God. He interprets Lazarus’ illness. not as a meaningless misfortune that Lazarus has run into, but as the instrument through which God’s glory will be revealed. This sickness is for the glory of God. How often do we think of our illnesses, our trials, our suffering, our losses, the times when things don’t go the way that we want them to go, the times when we want things that we think God wants but God doesn’t give them, how often do we think this is for the glory of God? And although Lazarus will die from this sickness, Jesus does explain that this won’t be the end result. But the purpose of Lazarus’ sickness is to reveal more about himself to these people.

From a human perspective, this is about as bad as it gets. Your friend is sick and is going to die. But from God’s perspective, it has an ultimate purpose, to glorify the Son of God. And here it is in verse four that we see the Son of God appear in this passage. And again, it is tied explicitly to the glory of God. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified. What an awesome and powerful statement. It is for the glory of God and therefore the Son of God. This of course reminds us about what we read a few weeks ago in chapter 5. Where Jesus said in John chapter five verse 23, he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. The father’s honor is the son’s honor and vice versa. And the same thing is true with glory. The glory of the son is the glory of God. And this would be an extremely controversial statement for him to make.

For a Jewish audience, a monotheistic audience who believes in one God, the glory of God is exclusive. As I just read a few moments ago in Isaiah, I will not give my glory to another. So for any man to claim what Jesus does would be blasphemous. if you don’t realize that the one speaking in Isaiah and Jesus, the Son of God, are one and the same. It is Yahweh, and here it is Yahweh in the flesh. And so for Jesus to declare his own glory that is indistinguishable from the Father’s glory is another claim to be equal with God. But as we’ve seen, this unity and equality with the Father is nothing new in the Gospel of John. Again, last week, chapter 10, we saw Jesus say that I and the Father are one. declaring that His glory and God’s glory are one and the same shouldn’t be a foreign concept to them. It should make perfect sense if they’re understanding Him as He’s revealing Himself to them.

And later, in John chapter 17, as He prays the high priestly prayer, He says in verse 1, Father, glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. The Son and the Father are one. God is one being in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And oftentimes that’s difficult for us to grasp, but that is what makes sense of Jesus saying, my glory is God’s glory. So the glorification of the Son is the glorification of the Father.

And sometimes you may wonder, As you think about how it is that God is one being, but three persons, and we think about maybe our worship or our prayer, and maybe you think, should I worship Jesus, or the Father, or the Spirit, or all three at once, or individually or separately? Well, to that I would answer yes. you should worship God as He is revealed in all three persons. Because to worship any of the persons who are God is to worship the one God. So when we worship Jesus, we are worshiping the Father and the Son and the Spirit. And when we worship the Father, the same is true. So we should worship God without the exclusion of any of the persons in the Trinity, even though we express it to one of them or the other.

The problem comes in when people start to deny persons of the Trinity, when different groups say things like, God has no son, or the Holy Spirit is just a force, the power of God. Or that the three, Father, Son, and Spirit, are just modes that God can appear in. No, none of those things are true. They are each distinct persons who are each God. And when we pray to the Father, or to Jesus, or we sing to Jesus, we are worshiping God. And this is true because though they are distinct, they are completely united. And this miracle at Bethany helps to make this clear to us. And do you notice how each of these aspects of the son that we’ve been seeing throughout the gospel as they’ve been revealed one by one, they’re continually building on each other.

He revealed that he’s equal with God. Then he revealed that he’s united with God. And now he reveals his glory is God’s glory. And they keep reappearing in every text that we come to. And we keep adding more and more to our understanding of who the Son of God is. And here we see the glory of the Son. When the Son raises Lazarus from the dead, God is glorified. And the Son is glorified. And that is the purpose of this miracle. So we see the glory of the Son revealed in the purpose of the Son. And His purpose in this story, in not only His raising of Lazarus, but in His delay to go to His friend, is that both He and the Father will be glorified. And so that’s the purpose. Secondly, we see the perseverance of the Son. Glory is revealed in his perseverance. Verses five and six, Jesus’ love for the sisters is described. It says, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard he was sick, he then stayed two more days in the place where he was.

Now this is one of the most seemingly contradictory statements that we see in this gospel. You’d think that if your friend was sick, that you would want to rush to see him, to see if you can help him. That would be the loving thing to do, right? But that’s not what happens. John says, Jesus loved the sisters and Lazarus, so, meaning because he loved them, He waited two more days. What? He stayed two more days because he loved them? Lazarus is about to die. He’s sick. They know Jesus can heal the sick. And because he loves them, he doesn’t go. He waits. Because he had a greater purpose in all of it. And Jesus’ love is shown not by rushing to heal Lazarus, but by waiting and allowing him to die. And normally, from our human perspective, love seeks to alleviate suffering. We don’t want people to suffer, especially if we love them. So we do what we can so they don’t suffer anymore.

But God’s love does not always spare people from trials. But God’s love does ensure that our trials have a purpose, and they serve an eternal good, and they serve His glory. As Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 17. For our momentary light affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison. Our afflictions serve a greater purpose than we can often see.

So after two days of waiting, verse 7 tells us, After this, he said to his disciples. So after the two days, then Jesus says, let us go to Judea again. And immediately, his disciples are concerned, to say the least. They’re freaking out. Like, Jesus, what do you mean going to Judea again? Verse eight, the disciples say to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and you’re going there again. Jesus, are you crazy? Don’t you remember what just happened in chapter 10? They just tried to stone you, like just tried to stone you. And you want to go again? But Jesus’ love for Lazarus takes precedent over the risks that were involved. his self-sacrifice here, giving up his own safety for the purpose of love, is demonstrating to us who Jesus is. And from our human perspective, yeah, this is a dangerous journey. He might be killed. They might be killed. But Jesus answers them with a metaphor about walking in the daytime.

Verses nine and 10, Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. Now what on earth does this mean, Jesus? What are you saying? Jesus tells them that there’s a set amount of time here. Are there not 12 hours in the day? There’s a fixed amount of time for the ministry he’s been given from the Father. Jesus cannot die before his appointed hour. There’s 12 hours in the day. He’s saying, guys, I’m only here with you for so long. And his steps are guided by God’s providence.

So his answer to the disciples’ fear is the sovereignty of God. God is in control of this. God has set the time that Jesus will die. And so they don’t have to fear going back to Judea. This is always the answer to our fears. God has appointed our days. We have nothing to fear. In Job chapter 14, verse one, Job says, man who is born of woman is short-lived and full of turmoil. And in verse five he says, since his days are determined, the number of his months is with you and his limits you have set so that he cannot pass. God has determined our days. God has already determined how long you’re going to live. And so we have nothing to fear. This was Jesus’ perspective. He knows he has a set amount of time and he’s not going to die before God’s will allows it. And then he mentions them.

He says, are you not walking with the light? in the daytime? Guys, if my time is set, if there’s 12 hours in the day and there’s a certain amount of time that I’m here with you as the light of the world, don’t you think it’s safer to walk with me while you have the light in the world? Because there’s gonna be a time when the light is gone, when Jesus is no longer here. But by this, Jesus means that walking with Him is walking in the light. And they didn’t have anything to fear any more than He did. So this demonstrates the glory of the Son in God’s sovereignty over His life and the situation that they find themselves in. Jesus had no fear of those who tried to harm Him. But He persevered through this danger and even through suffering, to accomplish the will of God.

It kind of gives us a new perspective on following Jesus, doesn’t it? Jesus goes where it’s dangerous. Jesus goes where it’s not safe, and they may try to kill him, but he trusts God’s sovereignty. So when we follow Jesus, we are to follow him where it’s not necessarily safe and it’s not necessarily comfortable. But we trust him because God has ordained each of our steps. It’s one thing to follow him when it’s easy, when it’s day, when everything is going right and things are great in your life. It’s easy to follow Jesus, but what about when he gets hard? What about when you lose somebody, or you have illnesses and things that are difficult in life, when you don’t get what you think God should be giving you? Are you gonna follow him then? Do you trust Him then? Or are you like the disciples who say, are you crazy? I’m not doing that. Are you willing to follow Him through the darkness? Are you willing to follow Him even if you have to wait for things? And are you willing to follow Him because you see the light of His glory on the other side?

Jesus didn’t let fear or trouble stop him. He went to accomplish the will of God and he called his disciples to come with him. They did follow him because that is what a disciple is. That’s what a Christian is. It’s one who follows Jesus. Secondly, we see the glory of the Son shown in his perseverance. We see the glory of the sun displayed in the plan of the sun. Verse 11, Jesus tells his disciples that their friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. He said these things, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go so that I may awaken him. Jesus knows. He knows exactly what’s going on. He knows when Lazarus dies, and he describes his death as sleep, like the Bible often does. But these disciples think that he means he’s actually asleep.

Because verse 12, the disciples then said to him, Lord, if he’s fallen asleep, he’ll be saved from his sickness. Good, he needs some sleep. He’s sick. Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he was speaking of actual sleep, so Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I’m glad. That is an amazing combination of seven words in the Bible. Lazarus is dead, and I am glad. I’m glad for your sakes that I was not there so that you may believe. But let us go to him. This was the whole point. This was his plan. The purpose of his delay. Was so that they would believe in him. that they would believe in who He is. They would believe in the glory He’s about to reveal to them.

So the Son’s glory is not only revealed in the things He can do, but in the faith that He brings about in His followers. Jesus had a plan. He knew his time was drawing near. If you continue reading in John, as we will, chapter 12 is the triumphal entry. Chapter 13 is the last supper. Things are about to start happening, and Jesus knows that. Time is drawing near quickly, and he knew that he’d be leaving his disciples soon, hence his metaphor he just gave them. Guys, the light’s only here for so long. You should follow me while it’s light. And he knew that because he was leaving, they would need to strengthen their faith. And what better way to prepare his disciples for his death than to show them that he had authority over death and he had authority over resurrection.

One of the last things Jesus does before the events start that lead to his crucifixion is he shows them, I can raise the dead. And he can use death to bring glory to himself. This is the plan of the Lord of glory, the Son of God. And in the final verse, of our passage this morning, Thomas speaks up. Verse 16, therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. It’s a very Thomas-like statement. Very Eeyore-like. Oh, let’s go die. We call him Doubting Thomas for a reason. And John quotes him to show that they still don’t understand exactly what’s happening. And we’ll see that as we come to the rest of this passage next week.

But ironically, Thomas’ words do ring true. They do show what it costs to be a disciple. They show what the attitude of a disciple should be. Let us follow him. so that we may die too. To follow Jesus is to take up your cross and to die to yourself. So whether he meant them this way or not, these words are true for us. Let us go, follow him, even if it means we die too. And so that is the introduction to this miracle Jesus is about to perform, this sign that’s gonna show them once again who he is. And it shows them that illness and suffering and even death are not for no reason. They are divinely ordained events meant to display the glory of God.

This sickness is not to end in death, but it is for the glory of God. The very purpose of everything that happens in this story is so that the glory of the Son would be revealed. We see it in the purpose of the Son, the perseverance of the Son, and the plan of the Son. We’ve already made some applications of this story, but to sum some of them up, When we face suffering, things like illness, or loss, when we lose loved ones, or we lose things that we thought God had in store for us, or maybe delays, when we have to wait for God, can we confess that this is for the glory of God?

The glory of God is revealed in His Son, who has the power over your life and over your death. And He is glorified even in the worst circumstances. And so, when we think about our worship, our worship does not stop in times of hardship and suffering. It cannot. Instead, trials give us an opportunity for even deeper worship. As we sing psalms and hymns and you read the words on the screen, let them speak to your heart. Let them remind you of the God that you serve. As we read in God’s words accounts like this, where God purposely ordained suffering in the lives of people. that he doesn’t do it for no reason. And so that if you have suffering in your life, you can read God’s word and say, God has a purpose in it just like he always has. And true worship is acknowledging that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, reigns over everything, including the hardships in my life. Another area that we’ve been applying the uses of the Son of God to is our evangelism. And you may be thinking, how does this passage speak to our evangelism?

Well, evangelism is the proclaiming of the glory of Christ. See, we don’t proclaim a Jesus that simply heals all of your illnesses. You’ll hear so-called evangelists that will tell you that you need to come to Jesus for healing. Or you need to come to Jesus so that you can have a good life now. That he will make everything in your life great and prosperous. And that is not the Christ we preach because that is not the Christ of the Bible. Will your life get better with Christ? Yes, but not because it gets easier. We declare the message of the cross, of suffering and crucifixion and resurrection, because that is what displays the glory of God in His Son. As Paul says, we do not preach ourselves, we preach Christ crucified. And Christ is the only hope we have when we face suffering and death. We must honestly share who Christ is, the Savior who can raise the dead, and he’s also the one who loves sinners.

And lastly, as we think about following Jesus, Jesus leads his disciples intentionally toward more suffering. Are you willing to follow Him there? Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means you lose some things? Even if it means your life gets harder? Even if it costs you your life? This is what it is to follow the one who died for us. And again, we look at the words of Thomas, let us also go that we may die with him. That is who we are. That is a follower of Christ. Obedience can be costly. It means sacrificing our life, denying ourself, and following Christ wherever he leads us.

So do you know him? Do you know this Son of God? He came and He died for sinners who trust in Him. Is that you? Do you trust in Him? If you do not yet trust Christ as your Savior, you need to come to Him today. Only He has the power over life and death. He’s your only hope. So come to Him and trust Him today. And if you do know Him, if you are a follower of Him, if you do trust Him as your Savior, praise God we have a Savior so glorious. A Savior who reigns over everything in life, including my suffering. And God has appointed each of our days and we can follow Him knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ has all glory and honor and power. And as we’ll sing in our final song, all glory be to Christ.

Stand with me as we close in a word of prayer. Our God in heaven, we thank you for a passage of scripture so powerful that reveals to us our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not just in the good times and His reign over the best parts of our life, but His glory over even our suffering. Lord, I pray that as we face trials in our life, as we face suffering, and as we face times where we don’t seem to be getting the things that we think that you want for us, Lord, I pray that you’d help us to trust you, to trust you in our loss, to trust you in our waiting. Lord, we thank you for who you are. And we pray that all glory would go to you in our life. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.