# NEW MERCIES DAILY!
MESSAGE TITLE:
Can You Still Worship Even When The Grave Is Sealed?
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
“Jesus said, Take ye away the stone… Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days…”(John 11:39–44)
DATE: Wed, April 9, 2025
BY: EFFIONG ETOK
Carrier of God’s Word
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
True worship begins when you’re standing at the grave of your promise, with no sign of life, yet your hands are still lifted.
INTRODUCTION
What do you do when the final stone is rolled over your situation? When the door is not just closed-but sealed, guarded, and declared dead? When your womb is silent, your bank account is empty, your marriage is cold, your dreams are lifeless, and your spirit is tired?
Can you still worship… when the grave is sealed?
Can you still raise a hallelujah when Lazarus has been in the tomb four days?
Can you still bow before Him when heaven is silent and everything smells like death?
MAIN MESSAGE
“Lord, by this time he stinketh…” That was the cry of Martha-a woman of faith who had believed, hosted Jesus, and served at His feet-but now stood before a sealed grave. Her belief battled her bitterness. Her theology confronted her tragedy.
Jesus wept-not because Lazarus was gone, but because faith had surrendered to finality. The grave was not the issue. It was the silence of worship in the face of pain.
And still-God does His best work in sealed places.
When Jesus Himself was buried, they sealed the tomb and set a watch. It was over-publicly, emotionally, prophetically. But on the third day, the earth quaked, the seal broke, and resurrection stepped forward.
Sealed doesn’t mean settled.
Then came Job-wrecked in a day. Ten fresh graves. Everything lost. Yet… “Then Job arose and worshipped.” He tore his robe, shaved his head, and collapsed before God-not in anger, but in surrender. That is worship.
To the single mother in tears… the young man waiting for healing… the woman with another miscarriage… the pastor preaching through pain-God sees you.
The grave may be sealed, but Heaven has not stepped away. Your sealed season is setting the stage for supernatural intervention.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Are you worshipping to escape your pain-or to exalt your God?
2. Can your broken voice still rise as an offering, even when you’ve buried what you prayed for?
TAKEAWAY STATEMENT
When you can still worship at the sealed grave, you invite the resurrection power of God into the deadest place of your life.
PRAYER POINTS
1. O Lord, I don’t need signs-I need You. Teach me to worship with tear-stained eyes and trembling hands, even when nothing changes,in Jesus name. Amen!
2. Father, break every seal of death and silence around my destiny. Let my worship provoke the resurrection of everything the enemy has buried.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!
