<![CDATA[Pens and Parchment: Faith]]>https://libbysustar.substack.com/s/faithhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qugk!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5cdf8838-9888-452c-b568-a38844d61ee3_424x424.pngPens and Parchment: Faithhttps://libbysustar.substack.com/s/faithSubstackThu, 07 May 2026 07:19:30 GMT<![CDATA[New Beginnings]]>https://libbysustar.substack.com/p/new-beginningshttps://libbysustar.substack.com/p/new-beginningsWed, 18 Mar 2026 17:01:16 GMTI’m sure all of you are familiar about the John 11; how Lazarus was sick and eventually died, only to later be raised from the dead. This story can bring a lot of questions to us, one of the main ones being, “Why didn’t Jesus come sooner? He could have healed him!”. Mary and Martha question their faith in this exact way, as the death of their brother deeply upsets them, as well as why Jesus wasn’t there.

a close up of a flower

The more I thought about this story, the more I began to realize how much it really reflects our personal faith journeys.

There are so many ups and downs to our faith. Our relationship with God will never be perfect; there will be so many downs and yet so many beautiful ups. There will be times when we question our faith, even times we wonder if God is really there.

This happens to all of us, and it’s not just with our faith. Our relationships with people in our lives, our friends and families, will never be perfect. It’s important not to get discouraged, because God is always with us. Even if we’re filled with doubt, even if we leave Him entirely, He will always be there, waiting for you to come home.

Now back to Lazarus.

The average human being is said to start decaying, once deceased, after 24-72 hours, visibly. But decomposition starts internally almost immediately after death. Lazarus was dead for four days before being raised from the dead, so most likely looked far from what he did when alive.

So Lazarus, dead for four days, covered in messy bandages, half decomposed, was able to be raised from the dead by Jesus.

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

John 11:25-26

So trust in God’s plan. Our faith journeys can be a lot like Lazarus. There will be times when we feel the farthest from God than we have ever been. There will be times when we doubt and question our faith. But God is always there, and we can always come back. No matter how long we have been “decomposing” in our faith, God is always waiting for us to come back to it, He will never give up on you!

Don’t be discouraged that God doesn’t care about you anymore. Because He does!

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

1 John 3:1

JOURNAL REFLECTION

What are some parts in your faith life that are lacking? How can you fix these parts in order to grow closer to and strengthen your relationship with God? What aspects of your faith life do you feel God is calling you to strengthen?

God Bless,

Elizabeth Jane 🌻

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