John 12:26 – Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
There’s a line in CAIN’s song Rise Up that gets me every time:
“Are you too scared to move and walk out of this tomb?”
That’s a striking question because sometimes what holds us back isn’t that we don’t know we’re stuck.
It’s that the stuck place starts to feel like the new normal.
Familiar, even.
Isn’t that relatable?
But let me tell you, you’re in good company.
In the Bible, Lazarus knew something about being stuck, too.
He had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived. There was a stone over the tomb, his sisters were devastated, and there was absolutely no reasonable expectation that Lazarus was coming back.
But then Jesus called his name.
I love that detail.
Jesus didn’t shout some generic instructions into the cemetery.
He called Lazarus.
And Lazarus came out.
But here’s what I don’t want us to miss: Lazarus didn’t come out of the tomb just to wander around and eventually find another tomb to hide in.
His new life meant a new relationship with Jesus.
In fact, John 12 tells us that Lazarus was sitting at a table with Jesus shortly afterward.
And then, in that same chapter, Jesus says, “Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am.”
Now, I can’t say with any certainty that Lazarus was still in the room when Jesus said those words. I’ll leave that part to your imagination.
But don’t miss the bigger picture.
Jesus doesn’t just call us out of something.
He calls us after Him.
Maybe you’ve spent a long time believing the lies, carrying the shame, or living inside a pattern that feels impossible to escape.
Maybe the place that once felt like a prison has simply become familiar.
Hear Jesus’ voice today.
The grave isn’t your home.
And when Jesus calls you out of the grave, He isn’t just calling you away from your old life.
He’s reaching out His hand and saying, “Follow Me.”
So, rise up.
Take off your grave clothes.
And follow Jesus.
He’s calling.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- What is one area of your life where you’ve felt stuck for so long that it has started to feel normal?
- Are there lies, shame, habits, or patterns that Jesus may be calling you to leave behind? What makes it difficult to step out?
- What does it mean to you that Jesus doesn’t simply call you out of something—He calls you to follow Him?
- What might “taking off your grave clothes” look like in your life right now? Is there something from your old life you keep putting back on?
- If Jesus is saying, “Follow Me,” what is one step you could take today to move toward Him?
L Y R I C S
Rise Up (Lazarus)
Come Forth
Dead man open your eyes
The Lord ain’t finished with you
Wake up You sleeper
Watch what he can do
Dead man open your eyes
Jesus is calling for you
In the dark and all alone
Growin comfortable
Are you too
Scared to move
And walk out of this tomb
Buried underneath
The lies that you believed
Safe and sound
Stuck in the ground
Too lost to be found
You’re just asleep
And it’s time to leave
Come on and rise up
Take a breath, you’re alive now
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You’re brand new
The power of death couldn’t hold you
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
When He said your name
The thing that filled your veins
Was more than blood
It’s the kind of love
That washes sin away
Now the door is open wide
The stones been rolled aside
The old is gone
The Light has come
So…
He’s calling us to walk out of the dark
He’s giving us new resurrected hearts
