Some Insights from the Number ‘1111’
For those of you who know my journey, you will know that God often speaks to me through numbers. Lately, I have been seeing the number 11/11 a lot, and it seems like many other people are too! There is a lot I could get into with this number (and most of that is for another day), but there is one particular thing God has been highlighting to me right now that I’d love to share with you.
I find that often when God highlights a number to me, there is a corresponding Scripture that matches it that speaks to me. At the moment, that verse is John 11:11…
Then Jesus added, “Lazarus, our friend, has just fallen asleep. It’s time that I go and awaken him.” (John 11:11 TPT)
This is a story that many are familiar with, but let’s set some context. Lazarus, Mary and Martha were close friends of Jesus and he would often visit with and stay with them when travelling through their area. Lazarus became sick and died from his illness, and, in what seemed like a very strange move, Jesus waited until 2 days after Lazarus died to even get to Mary and Martha.
By the time he got there, Lazarus had been buried in his tomb for 4 days, and the decomposition process had well and truly begun – we’re talking pretty bad smells. If you’ve never smelled the smell of rotting flesh, it is not pleasant. The other day we found a rat that the cat had left in our backyard, and let’s just say that the decomposition process had well and truly begun, and the smell was naaaaaasty. But Jesus had a plan and a purpose in all of this, and we can learn a lot from it.
Firstly, when Jesus arrived to see Mary and Martha, he was confronted by the level of grief and suffering they were experiencing. This affected him so deeply that it says that he was deeply angry and he wept. Why was he angry? It wasn’t because he was mad at anybody. He was affected by the suffering that takes place everywhere. He was confronted head on with the reality of sin in our world, and ultimately, the consequences of that is death and suffering. It does not bring Jesus pleasure to see those he loves (that’s you and I) suffer. Our tears, grief and pain moved him as well.
Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed by a season of grief and suffering, and you are wondering where Jesus is in the mess you are dealing with. I promise you, he’s there, he sees, and he grieves with you. He hates the effects of sin and suffering, and he doesn’t like the way it affects your life any more than you do. I love these words in Psalm 56:
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalm 56:8 NLT)
God literally cares so deeply for us that He bottles our tears and stores them in His book about you. On top of this, He grieves and sheds tears with us. Our Father loves and cares for you and I so deeply. I hope this brings you comfort today!
The other thing that stood out to me from this passage was the fact that Jesus was going to wake Lazarus up from his ‘sleep’, even though he had been in the tomb for 4 days. As I mentioned before, he was well and truly beginning to decompose by then – I’m talking smells, bacteria, the body breaking down, a process that is pretty awful. But in this, Jesus was showing everybody something. This situation seemed impossible – in fact, nobody expected Jesus to do what he did and raise Lazarus from the dead. People didn’t have the faith to believe that Jesus could bring Lazarus back from the dead. But, Jesus was showing them that he is the God of the impossible. He was literally able to reverse the process of death and decay in order to bring something back to life.
I’m not sure about you, but I know there are things, circumstances and situations in my life that seem dead and impossible. I know that I cannot do it myself, and it even feels difficult to believe that God can. It seems like the process of death and decay have well and truly set in, leaving a stench that tries to haunt me. But, Jesus can and does bring things back to life. In the same way that Jesus brought Lazarus to life, Jesus can bring the ‘dead’ things in your world back to life, to free you from the clutches of sin, suffering and death, and to bring honour and glory to Himself.
Is there anything in your life that feels dead and impossible? Perhaps there are dreams and promises that God gave you, people that you’re believing to come to know Him, an area of your life that is holding you back that you just cannot break free from, something that is causing suffering in your life. Well, he can and does want to change that.
Author and speaker Jodie Hughes words it like this in her book The Kings Prophetic Voice…
God is bringing to life the dead things and places. God is breathing encounters over you to wake you up into spiritual clarity, fresh connected relationship with Him, and awaken a new sense of identity in God and your exciting eternal purpose. God is waking you up from dull religion to active, alive relationship with Him. God is waking up our nations, families, and those in our sphere of influence to His realness and power to turn around circumstances. God is inviting you to pray with urgency for revival and harvest and to bless what He is already doing. Resurrection power is available in your circumstances.
Those words fill me with a real sense of hope, excitement and anticipation for what God is doing and wanting to do in my life, and I hope it is doing the same for you! Perhaps today, if you are struggling, spend some time in prayer, inviting Him into those areas that feel ‘dead’ in your life, and thanking Him in advance for what He has already done, because of the finished work of the cross.