When Faith Rolls the Stone: Obedience Beyond Logic

“Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone.” — John 11:39–41 (ESV)

Sometimes, faith looks like a giant leap. Sometimes, it looks like a small nudge of obedience that defies every ounce of logic in our being.

When Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, grief had already taken root. Lazarus had been dead four days.  Not only had hope decayed, Lazarus was decaying. When Jesus said, “Take away the stone,” He wasn’t just calling for an act. He was calling for a specific kind of faith:  obedient faith.

Martha’s response was perfectly reasonable: “Lord, by this time there will be an odor…” It didn’t make sense. What Jesus asked was irrational, uncomfortable, and possibly offensive. But Jesus wasn’t reasoning with logic, He was inviting belief.

“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”          

Faith That Simply Obeys

We often think of great faith as heroic, spectacular, or wildly emotional. But Jesus links belief to something simple and clear: obedience.

• It wasn’t Martha’s theology that moved the stone.
• It wasn’t emotional passion that revealed the glory.
• It was an ordinary, physical act in response to an extraordinary, divine word.

And that’s where many of us struggle. We wait to feel faith before we act in faith. But Scripture often reveals that the strength of our belief is revealed in whether we obey…especially when we don’t understand.

When His Voice Defies Logic

The truth is, Jesus often asks us to do things that make little to no sense in the natural:

• Forgive when it hurts too deeply.
• Give when we feel like we lack.
• Speak when we feel inadequate.
• Stay when we want to run.
• Roll away the stone when we’re convinced it’s too late.

Sometimes we imagine faith as rising above our doubts, but often, it’s about hearing God’s voice in the middle of competing voices that often show up as external pressures and internal hesitations.

And here’s the challenge:  His voice doesn’t always shout above the rest. Sometimes, His voice comes like that still, small whisper. Jesus does not work in competition, just invitation.

Faith Is Formed in the Everyday

The miracle at Lazarus’ tomb didn’t begin with a dramatic scene. It began with a decision to obey a voice.

That kind of faith doesn’t appear magically in crisis. It’s cultivated daily:

• In the quiet moments of prayer.
• In the intentional practice of listening.
• In the habit of slowing down long enough to recognize what’s Him and what’s not.

When we tune our hearts to His leading in everyday moments, we’re more prepared to hear and respond in the impossible ones.

Faith That Moves Stones

What stone is He asking you to roll away?

Maybe it’s not a grand gesture. Maybe it’s a phone call, a release of offense, step toward reconciliation, or a surrender of fear.  It might feel as insignificant as pushing a rock. But what’s behind that stone may be the beginning of resurrection.

Sometimes, the greatest signs of God’s glory follow the simplest acts of obedience.

And the question still echoes:

“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

Believe.

Obey.

Push the stone…And see the glory rise.