Why don't you open your Bibles please to John's Gospel and the 11th chapter. I want to draw your attention to a case of a man who was sick with a life-threatening, even life-ending malady that is here in John chapter 11. It's that brother of Mary and Martha. You know him as Lazarus. We take up our reading at verse one of John 11. Now, a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore, the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Then he goes on to speak to the disciples about going there, but we'll leave off our reading at that point. Now, what a blessed description is here given of Lazarus. He whom you love. His sisters sent this message, he whom you love, not our brother is sick, not the one whom we love is sick, though obviously both of those are true, nor did they say your disciple, that one who believes on you, that one who loves you is sick, though again, all of that would be true as well. But of all that can be said about this man, I say nothing was more important, nothing more wonderful than this. He's he whom you love. to be loved specifically by the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, his love for his people is not a blanket love. Well, it hit me because it hit everybody and he didn't really mean it. No, it's very specific. Like when Paul can say, he loved me and gave himself for me. It's a very deliberate and specific love for each of his own. You, dear brother. You, dear sister. And the particular Greek word that's here used for love, it's not the agape or agape. It's actually the word used for a love of personal attachment. It's talking about a warm-hearted and friendly kind of love. It's used later in this very chapter when even non-disciples could see the intensity of his love for this man, Lazarus, saying, look, you see how he loved him? He's so moved by all of this. Now, obviously, it doesn't mean that Lazarus alone was one who was so loved by Jesus. In fact, in verse 5, we're told that Jesus so loved his sisters also. And further, he affirmed to his disciples that he loves all of his redeemed people. Remember later in this very gospel, greater love has no man than this. He laid down his life for his friend, you are my friend. So it's not that, well, you know, Lazarus alone, he's got that. No, no. Not everything about Lazarus here is applicable to us. He was being buried and then called out of the tomb. Chances are that's not going to happen with us. Well, it will at last. But in the meantime, no. But certainly this is a parallel, this is applicable. We are those whom the Lord loves. And I want to consider four lessons with you from what we see here of Lazarus and his particular situation of being very sick. Firstly this, the fact that Lazarus was so loved by the Lord Jesus Christ, that did not exempt him from sickness. whatever the particular physical malady he had, the fact that the Lord so loved him didn't mean, oh, you're not gonna be hit with that then. And the fact that we are so loved by Christ, the creator, the sustainer of all our savior, that does not mean that we won't get sick, that we won't experience some kind of physical malady. When James is writing to those believers in James chapter five, he at least allows a possibility, is anyone sick among you? Well, as if to assume that, yeah, it's very likely that there will be somebody in their ranks there that has some illness. And you think of many saints in scripture who experience physical affliction. And of course, perhaps Job comes to mind. And those terrible boils, in addition to everything else that was going on, he had these very painful boils physically. There's a sickness. Or you've got Genesis chapter 27. Isaac, you know, Isaac was blind for like 20 years. Well, there's a malady for you. Or even Elisha were told clearly in 2 Kings 13 that he died from an illness. It was something that he had that took him out of this world. And so godly king Hezekiah, he was sick to the point of death before he was given an additional 15 years. We come to the New Testament. We've got Paul's beloved brother and co-worker, Epaphroditus, and he was sick to the very point of death. Paul said, God had mercy on him, not him only, but on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. But the point of this man, he was so sick, he almost died. Or how about that colleague and really mentee of Paul Timothy? And remember, he makes reference to Timothy's frequent infirmities. Whatever it was, Timothy had something That in itself is very enlightening about Timothy when you see his labors and his faithfulness and so forth that he did this. Well, much of the time, he's got some kind of issue going on here. And then in 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul makes reference to this man, Trophimus, a fellow laborer, and he had to leave him behind sick in Miletus. Now, Paul was needing all the fellow laborers he could at that particular time. Remember, he writes to Timothy and says, please come. I've left Miletus here. Well, this man was laid low and had to be left behind. I find that very interesting in itself. You know, Paul, we know, was used of God for miraculous healings. And yet, on this occasion, there's no miraculous healing. It shows us that even these gifts of healings and so forth, it wasn't up to man's will as if some faith healer comes on the scene and does, no, it then was subject to God. And though Paul was used at times for physical healings, yet here is a case it wasn't always so. And then we can go on to trace out church history. We won't. Because throughout the course of history, but certain names come to mind. Calvin was a rather sickly kind of an individual. And Spurgeon, of course, while carrying on his labor, said gout and other issues going on. Dr. Lloyd-Jones was taken out of this world at age 81 because of cancer. And if the Lord tarries, most of us will probably depart from this world by some illness, some physical malady. Old Bishop Hall said, sickness is the common preface to death. It kind of precedes it, often the means of it. And so the Lord's people are subject to disease and many other problems commonly experienced by humanity, and that especially because we still live in a fallen world, and all sickness, all these maladies, they're the result of the fall. It all goes back to Genesis chapter three, and therefore, brethren, here's one use we can make of sickness, whether it's our own or that which we see in our loved ones, our brethren. Sickness and even death itself, these are reminders of the fall and the fallen state of our world. And it's going to characterize our world and our race all the way up to the end when we read in Revelation 22.3, then there's no more curse. All the sickness, all the sorrow, all the pain, Revelation 21 talks about God taking it all away, but not until then. No more curse then, but in the meantime, well, here it is, we're in a fallen world with sickness and all forms of maladies and pain and the like. And it underscores that the present outworking of our salvation, that which Christ bestowed upon us, the present concern and outworking is not primarily our happiness in this world. Now, bless God, it's true that he gives us much earthly happiness. Mind you, even to the ungodly, he fills their hearts with food and gladness, Acts 14. But true and permanent and unmixed happiness That's yet to come in and through our Lord Jesus Christ and our being with him. Not then in a world marred by sin and under the curse of sin, but that new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells, and then there is no more curse. And therefore, Sickness should also remind us of what is to come. Reminds us we're in a fallen world. All this goes right back to Genesis 3, but wait a minute, this is also temporary. Here's what's to come. It should cause us to be looking ahead, pointing us ahead, even stirring up longing for that new heavens and new earth for which we now look, and to keep us also from being too attached to this world, or to keep us from looking in the wrong place for our real happiness. So, the fact that Lazarus was so loved by Christ that we are so loved by our Lord Jesus, that is no immunity from physical illness and various maladies. But there's another way of stating that, and it warrants being treated as a separate heading, and it's this. Not only did the fact that he loved Christ not exempt him from, or was loved by Christ not exempt him from suffering, the fact that Lazarus was sick then did not mean that Christ did not love him. Is he whom you loved? He's still loved, though he's sick with a very serious illness. And nor did his sickness somehow indicate that Jesus really loved Lazarus less than the others. You know, he loved you less, therefore you get some sickness. Well, no. In fact, verse five of this chapter goes on to assert that the Lord Jesus loved these sisters and Lazarus, the idea of no less Lazarus than them, that when his people experience sickness, it's absolutely no indication of his disfavor. They're loved as much when they're sick as when they're well and full of vigor. And that means that our sickness then is not contrary to his love, rather it's only consistent with that love. You know, as an absolute sovereign, as a ruler over all, could God not keep us from getting sick? You know, at least to date, though our house had a bunch of sickies in it last week, and Wanda still is laid low with it, yet to date, I don't know what the Lord has for the rest of the day or into next week, but I have managed to escape it. Well, that's God's, but could it not be that in His sovereignty that Wanda, that the Razor clan, that others would have been able to escape it? Well, yes, obviously. In fact, with most of us, He does keep us from illness and the like most of our days. And therefore, we can say God is concerned for our physical well-being. And it's evident by how he generously sustains us with health and strength. And therefore, when sickness does come, we must understand it's no accident, right? Except when God couldn't help it, there it is. No, it is only as God has willed. Contrary to the common error in some religious circles, well, it's not God's will for anyone to be sick. circle in which the Lord saved Wanda and I in our spiritual infancy, that was the thing. Oh, it's never God's will for people to be sick. Well, if that is so, then no one would ever be sick, right? He rules in the heavens, over the heavens and the earth, and none can stay His hand. What are you doing? The Lord does as He pleases. You got Psalm 115.3, Psalm 135.6, Ephesians 1.11. He works all things according to the counsel of His will. So, Yeah, His will is done. So this we know. Any sickness we experience, it comes only in God's sovereign will. It's His will for us. And this we also know. Whatever He wills, whatever we experience, it is consistent with His love. Is it the flu? Is it COVID? Is it a heart attack? Is it some long-term chronic malady? It's consistent with his love. No, we gotta take a step beyond that. It's even ordered by that love for the good that he has determined to do us. You know, sickness is not left out there. Romans 8, 28, and we know all things work together for our good. Those who love God, those called according to his purpose. It goes on to tell us why. It's because he's conforming to the image of Christ even by these things. But sickness, except that one. Sickness is, no, no, sorry, that one doesn't work for your good. No, that's included under that broader heading as well. Listen to the words of J.C. Ryle. The hand that was nailed to the cross is too wise and too loving to smite without a needs be or to keep us waiting for relief without a cause. That hand nailed to the cross. The times in scripture We do see sickness used as a means of chastening, of correcting those who err. For instance, the abuse of the Lord's Supper. First Corinthians 1130. For this reason, many are weak, many are sick, some even sleep. Or you've got Psalm 119, and how the psalmist there says, before I was afflicted, I went astray. But then he goes on to say, it's good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn God's law. Well, God used some kind of presumably physical affliction to correct and arrest him. And therefore, sickness can be a providential chastening. But even then, it's not inconsistent with his love. You remember what the Lord Jesus said in Revelation chapter 3, those whom I love I chasten, I chastise, right? So even that is the expression of his love. We won't turn there, but in Job 33, verses 14 through 30, you see how God at times, in this way, he gets man's attention. through sickness, laying man low on the sick bed, and that especially in order to do man good, even the unsaved, as you see there, Job 33. Therefore, it is right to use times of ill health, however serious, however protracted, to examine ourselves. And if we see sin, then to repent of recognized sin, knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness as we confess. But dear brother, dear sister, having done that, having examined it, I see no obvious sin. I mean, who can't come up with something any minute of any day that, well, I failed in this one, I failed in that one. But as far as some real issue, don't regard protracted illness as some kind of punishment or some expression of God's anger. It's not so. Was that the case with Lazarus? Ah, you know what that Lazarus did? God struck him down with that thing. No, it was for the glory of God, Jesus said. What about Job? Yeah, that scallywag. No. In actual fact, it was because he was a blameless man that he experienced that. So the point is, if there is no obvious sin, then don't conclude, oh, this has come to me as chastening to arrest my sin. Brethren, surely God's not going to play guessing games with us. Guess what you've done this time. They'll think funny. No. No. That's not our loving and kind Heavenly Father. At times, God sends sickness, not so much to arrest from sin, but to teach his beloved children. Let me again quote J.C. Ryle. And if nothing else comes but just to come in to you to read more Ryle, then this sermon will have served a very good purpose. It tends to draw our affections away from this world and to direct them to things above. Sickness sends us to our Bibles and teaches us to pray better. It helps to prove our faith and patience and shows us the real value of our hope in Christ. It reminds us that we are not to live always and it tunes and trains our hearts for our great change. And in other ways as well, it benefits us. So the point is, sickness in the Christian is not contrary to being loved, to being so loved by our Lord Jesus Christ. It comes and it's only consistent with that love. I dare say it's even an expression of that love. Remember when Paul writes at the end of Romans that all these things were more than conquerors and nothing can separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus? What he is saying is, this is God in Christ loving you, even in those things, even by those things that come our way. God using these for our good to make us more like Christ, as Paul says earlier there in Romans chapter eight. So dear brother, dear sister, in the midst of sickness, see you are here described in John 11 three. He whom you loved or she whom you loved is sick. is still as loved by the Savior. And here's the truth, then, to keep in the fore of our thinking always, including and especially in the face of sickness, chronic maladies, one form or another. If it's that which we ourselves are experiencing, oh wait, wait, Lord, I'm loved by you. If it's that which is hit a loved one, our brethren who are laid low now with the flu and the COVID and other things. Well, Lord, they are loved by you. Being loved by him is surely what matters most, right? Give it your choice between the love of Jesus Christ or physical health. Only a fool would say, forget about the love of Jesus, I just want physical health, right? It's that love, dear brother, dear sister, that controls all that we experience. And therefore, in sickness, use it as a providence to recognize that love, to contemplate that love, to delight in that love, especially as his heart is revealed on the cross. And that way, keep sickness, whether it's ours or that of our brethren, and perspective. We're always seeing it in this light. No, wait, wait, here's the love of Jesus Christ. This is consistent with even the expression of it. But now, thirdly, why did these sisters use this description of their brother when they sent word to Jesus? He whom you love is sick. It's our common way of thinking. We might have expected them to say, he who loves you is sick. Thereby appealing to something in Lazarus. Look, he loves you. Well, you surely want to do something for him. Trying to obligate Jesus. Well, the sisters didn't do that. Perhaps because they really understood anything we receive from his hand is all of grace. We're not going to obligate him, but look what I've done. But in actual fact, They pointed to something far more important than Lazarus' love for Christ. Can I say something far more compelling to the Lord Jesus? His love for his people moves him to do them good. It drove him to the cross. This wording pointed to his concern, that these ladies knowing that the love Jesus has for Lazarus, well, they're confident of his willingness to help, even that he would be desirous of so doing. And we see that they read him quite accurately in this. His love made him very predictable, because indeed he did go to them, even though going into a hostile surrounding. You remember the disciples said, boy, they're just trying to kill you. You're going back there. They're trying to kill you there. He would go. In other words, because of that great love, he could not be indifferent. He knew the outcome. we'll go on to see more of that, the good that would come from it. And yet he could not be indifferent. His love for his people moves him to action, as I've said, even to the cross itself. Well, surely if that, then lesser matters. And surely, if it was his, this conviction that they had about Christ's love that caused these sisters then to send word about Lazarus, believing that Jesus could do something, but also believing that he would do something because of that great love. The one whom you love is sick. But see their faith, see their confidence in His love and how they let it be known. In other words, that governed their words to Him. They did not tell Jesus what to do. Name it and claim it, you'll get it. No, they didn't tell Him, Lord, you better do this. No. In fact, they didn't even ask for anything. Lord, come. Lord, command this illness to depart. They didn't. They simply said, love you, love. is sick. Knowing his love, it was quite enough just to announce that Lazarus had this problem. And they knew that Christ's love would cause him to do that which was consistent with his love, that is, that which was best for Lazarus. So, if you please, faith in his love made them very happy just to leave it to him as to what he would do, kind of a sweet submission to his will and his wisdom. And that scene, even after, you remember after Lazarus had died, and then it comes to how Martha is saying, Lord, if you had been here, this wouldn't happen. But even though, I know still, anything you ask of God, she's not envisioning, oh, he's gonna be raised from the dead, but she's just submitting, you know what's best. I trust your wisdom, I trust your will, I trust your heart. Well. So it is then that we see these dear sisters of Lazarus, they're submitting, not ordering. Now, it's not wrong to be specific in our petitions, in our praying. In fact, we're told to do that, giving us this day our daily bread, or forgive us of sins, or the like. But is your confidence in His love such? You're very happy to leave it to him to do his will. Lord, you know. Makes it relatively easy to sweetly submit, to trust his wisdom, because we're confident of his love. And this is what the faith of these sisters in Christ's love caused them to do. that moved them to get word to him, and then to confidently commit the matter, knowing that he would do what is needed, he would do what is best, and therefore gladly submitting to his wise and loving will, even if things didn't seem to go as was desired. I would have you to note that these sisters were not seeking help for themselves, but on behalf of one that they dearly loved. And how right for us to follow their example on behalf of our brethren. those who are currently sick or those who experience long-term maladies, to recognize the love of Jesus and in that confidence to bring them their need before our Lord, even fervently so, and to do so in expectation. Lord, this is the one that you love. This is the one that, well, you're willing to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, to do so in expectation of what is best while at the same time having that sweet submission, Lord, you know. Well, perhaps one reason these sisters didn't specify what they wanted Jesus to do, you know, just simply he's sick and left it there, was because they knew his ability. not only that he can heal, but that he has done so in a variety of ways. You're familiar with that in the scriptures? Sometimes the Lord Jesus would touch, like even a leper. He touched that leper and healed him. Sometimes he gives the command from a distance and the person is healed. Or you think of that fellow in John chapter 9, how he mixed clay and put it on his eyes and told him to go wash at the pool. Why that? At least it teaches us that the Lord's not limited to one method, right? And how He does things. Even now, we see in Scripture, using human means. 1 Timothy 5.23, take a little wine for your stomach's sake for your frequent ailments. There's a physical means. Or James chapter 5, that applying of oil. It seems that that's, again, referring to something more medicinal there. So the point is, it's right to use the means that God has given us in providence, but not put our trust in the means. When he applied that clay to the eyes of that blind man, it wasn't so he said, you know what, this clay, that's what really does it. It's this and me washing that off. That's really where the power, no. No, the powers of Jesus, whatever means, he uses. Therefore it's for us to seek his blessing. Well, a fourth observation. Since he has that intense love for us, and since he can heal, that means if he delays, it's no accident. Again, to quote Ryle, the hand that was nailed to the cross is too wise and loving to keep us waiting for relief without a cause. No accident. And by the same token, since he so loves and since he can heal, that means if he doesn't heal, that too is no accident. It's on purpose. I've already referred to those circles in which, you know, it's never God's will for anybody to be sick. And then the same circles, they will say, well, the reason you're not healed is because you've got some fault in your faith. They just knew your faith isn't quite, you've got a problem. You're just guilty of some kind of unbelief and so forth. You know, Wands and I had a dear brother in the Lord, again, the circle in which we were saved, who was a godly young man. but he went to his grave beating himself up. Not admitting that, you know, not even admitting he was sick, but he goes to the grave beating himself up because he just didn't have enough faith. He had enough faith. Then he'd be healed. That's a great cruelty. That error is a great cruelty. Wouldn't even talk to his wife about their future and the daughters because that would be unbelief because God's gonna heal me and I've gotta, cruelty and foolishness, I'm sorry, it's error. And it gives too much credit to man and it makes faith the healer, not the almighty Lord. Was the healing of Lazarus dependent on his faith? Well, hardly, he's laying in a tomb and been dead four days, so it's not like he's mustered up enough faith while he's dead. No, it was sovereign omnipotence that said, Lazarus, come forth. Nor was his healing dependent on the faith of his sisters. Lord, if you had been here, but they didn't think in terms of Jesus still having power to raise him from the dead. They weren't expecting that. The point is, he can heal at will. And therefore, if he delays or doesn't heal, as I've already said, it's no accident. It's his will and it's the expression of his goodness. It's only consistent with his love, again, as the expression of it. And we get some little window here in John chapter 11, where we see our Lord doing other things in connection with this illness, and even the delay in, can I call it healing, lasmus, his sickness, his death. He delayed on purpose. Notice verse six, so when he heard that he was sick, He quickly went there as fast as he could. No. He stayed two more days in a place where he was. And then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. At just the right time, he would go. Now, this was not arbitrary, nor was it a cruelty. In fact, it was only for good reason, that delay was best, as he said in verse four, when he first heard news of his sickness, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. And so it was. But he also says, notice verse 15, and I'm glad he says, verse 14, Lazarus is dead. He tells it, they're still thinking, oh, he's sleeping, he'll get better, he's doing all right. Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. Here's good. God's going to be glorified. Christ's power will be seen. You know how it was afterwards, how they not only wanted to kill Jesus, they wanted to kill Lazarus, because this guy's a living testimony of his power. This is not just some ordinary guy out here, and it's not some false teacher. Here's one who raised the dead. Let's get rid of Lazarus, too, then. It was for the glory of God, and it was for the good of the disciples. I'm glad for your sake that I wasn't there, that you might believe. So our Lord had a good and wise design in his delay, and this was governed by his love for his people. Notice the connection here, verse five. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where I was. Hold on. Hold on. Do you get the feel for that? He loved them, so he delayed. No, no, no, no. You love them. You got to go right now. You got to do something. No. It was in their best interest. It was out of his love that he delayed. Now, you again know. the falling out of things, that Lazarus was then raised from the dead, and he did exceeding abundantly of all they could ask or think. But it was not a cruelty. Our Lord was doing that, which was expression of his love, even though to our mind, wait a minute, I don't see how this works. And so now, no matter how long the delay, same Lord, Same love for his own. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, I grant that his people experienced bitter pain because of that deliberate delay. The pain that Mary and Martha felt when he didn't get there before their brother died, and now he's laid in the tomb, and he's been there four days, and they're still weeping four days later. but no one complained after the fact. No one complained about the outcome. His wise and loving design was seen in time. And again, so will it be with you, dear Christian. All of his loved ones, same Lord, same Savior, We must trust him. We must trust him even as Lazarus. had to trust him after he was raised from the dead. Now, you get this. It was God's will that he should die at that time, and that he should be raised, and then that Lazarus presumably would die again later. We don't have the record of it, but since he's not roaming the earth to our knowledge, then we'd have to say, yeah, he did die then later. But does it cause you to wonder why Lazarus didn't come forth expressing some disappointment after four days? You know, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul said, to depart and be with Christ, far better. Wait a minute, this is conscious blessedness that his people enjoy in the intermediate state. Well, after four days of enjoying that, it couldn't have been easy to leave it or to have to wait until later. He evidently had to trust his loving Lord that that delay was far better, at least at that time. Well, so with us. Come what may, sickness, even death itself, is not contrary to his love. Therefore, it's for us to trust him to do what's consistent with that love, that is, what is most for God's glory and best for his people. Well, those are just four observations from the sickness of Lazarus and our Lord's love for him. Let me just give you the heads again. Firstly, Christ's love does not immunize us from sickness and maladies. Secondly, sickness does not mean that we're not loved or we're somehow loved less. Thirdly, It's for us to trust his love to do what is best. And fourthly, to know if he delays or does not heal us, it's no accident. It is that love expressed. Well, brethren, let me encourage you to use this providence of now so many of our brothers and sisters being laid low, so many of the households being hit with the bug, and then also those who have ongoing painful maladies to use this providence to reflect on these things. But wait a minute, like Lazarus, I am loved, and this is very consistent with his great love. If you're here without Christ, well, you too experience sickness. And can I say, don't despise it. Let me encourage you to make the best use of it. I already made reference to Job 33, verses 14 through 30, how God uses sickness at times to lay men low, to put them on their bed, to get their attention, and that in order to arrest them, even to do them everlasting good, humbling them, giving them time for quiet reflection, showing their frailty, showing the brevity of life, and especially all designed to point them to death, and here's the cure. It's Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I would say to you, use sickness. You find yourself laid low with illness? Well, use that as a time to reflect on your own frailty, your own brevity, and certainly death to come, and your need for Christ. But you don't need to wait until you're laid low with sickness, because today's the day of salvation. Christ Jesus came in this world to save sinners. He saves all kinds of sinners. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to Him. Trust in Him. He said, those who come to me, no way will I cast them out. He died to save sinners. He lives to save sinners. He's rich to all who call upon Him. Well, then believe on Him. Cry out to Him. My God, grant mercy. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we would again pray for our brethren who are laid low, households affected with this illness. We pray also for those in our ranks, Lord, not a few, who have ongoing health issues. Will help us to use these to reflect on your love and to use these that come to us in providence, Lord, to exercise trust in you. to recognize that, Lord, anything that comes our way, it is only consistent with and the expression of your great love. Lord Jesus, that you would love us and give yourself for us to make us your own special people. Surely it's that love that governs all else. Well, grant it would govern all of our thinking. And grant then that we would be good stewards of all providences. And also grant that in the midst of such things that we would trust in you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.