John 11:8-12: a reflection

8The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.” 11He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.” 12The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

The disciples are alarmed when Jesus proposes going back to Judea, where people had just tried to stone him. Are you going there again? Jesus answers with an image: Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. He means that as long as it is his appointed time, his day, to do the Father's work, he is safe to do it, danger or no danger; he will not fall until his hour comes.

Notice the security Jesus walks in. It is not that Judea was not dangerous; it was. It is that Jesus lived within the Father's appointed time and will, and while it was still his day to work, no danger could cut it short. He walked in the light of the Father's purpose, and so he did not stumble. His safety was not the absence of danger but the presence of the Father's will and timing around his life.

There is something steadying in that for us. We are not promised the absence of danger, but there is a kind of security in doing God's will in God's time, in walking in the light of his purpose for us. While it is your day, the time God has given you to do his work, you can do it, even into difficulty, trusting that your times are in his hands. Do not let fear keep you from the work God has given while it is day. Walk in the light of his will, do the work he has for you, and trust that your day is held in his hands. Work while it is day.

Lord Jesus, you walked into danger because it was still your day to do the Father's work, secure not in the absence of danger but in the presence of his will and timing. Give me that security. Keep fear from stopping me from the work you have given while it is day. Help me walk in the light of your will, trusting that my times are in your hands, and to work while it is day.