Get Help to Roll Away the Stone

Daily Devotional

St. John 11:41-43 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. ….And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway where he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.Some of the King’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but no one did anything to remove the stone out of the way.Then two peasants came along carrying  loads of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, they both assessed the situation and decided to  lay down their load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, they succeeded.

After the peasants picked up their load of vegetables, they noticed a reward lying in the road where the boulder had been. It contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating the gold was for the person or persons who removed the boulder from the roadway.The peasants learned what many of us struggle to grasp: Concealed within every obstacle is an opportunity, yet many are unwilling to explore it.

Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus was dead for 4 days when Jesus came on the scene. When He came to the tomb where they laid him, as is customary, a stone was in front of it. Jesus then gave the instruction to take away the stone. It is unlikely that Mary and Martha would have been able to do this by themselves, so it is reasonable to assume that the reason the stone was rolled away was because they got help from some of the Jews who were present. It should be noted that Jesus went  there to raise Lazarus from the dead, but before he did, he asked them to address the main obstacle: the stone had to be taken away.

What is the main obstacle to your success? You cannot see your breakthrough until this stone is rolled away. Note that for Lazarus, as long as the stone was before the tomb, Lazarus could not have come forth, even if Jesus had called him.  Your stone must be rolled away. Part of the reason why it might be taking you so long to roll away your stone is because you might be trying to do it by yourself.  There are people who God has already placed in your life specifically to help you unravel the obstacles to your success. Leverage the people He has already given to you and solicit their help to roll away your stones; the speed with which you see your breakthrough depends on it.

Life Application:  Assess the main obstacles to your success and ask help from the dream supporters that God has placed in your life.

Prayer: Dear Lord, my pride oftentimes prevent me from asking for help. I pray that I will come into the realization that asking for help is not a sign of weakness and inadequacies. I pray for your direction as you lead me to the right people you have placed in my life to help. In Jesus name, amen.