Jesus laid aside the privileges and glory of His deity when He became a man. As a result, He had to face life's trials and tests just as we do (Phil. 2:5-8). Like us, He had to exercise trust in God His Father.

I see this in the story about Lazarus. Jesus deliberately delayed departing for Bethany when He heard that Lazarus was sick. By waiting, He was exercising faith in His Father's wisdom and power. He knew it was His Father's will that Lazarus die so that God would be glorified (Jn. 11:4).

Because of His faith, Jesus returned to a place where an attempt had been made on His life (v.8). And even though He had never restored to life a person who had been buried, He declared confidently, "I go that I may wake him up" (v.11).

His disciples might have wondered why Jesus didn't heal Lazarus before he died. Why go into dangerous territory when He had the power to perform miracles from a distance? (Mt. 8:5-13). But Jesus didn't question His Father's leading. He went forward with perfect trust in His wisdom.

Although we may not see clearly the end result of the trials we face, we can have confident faith in our heavenly Father. We can trust God to glorify Himself and to work out His good purposes through us.  — Herbert Vander Lugt