Joanna Weaver - Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God

Praise for
Lazarus Awakening

Joanna Weaver has done it again! By revealing the profound love Jesus had for Lazarus and the shocking life-after-death-on-earth He lavished on His friend, she skillfully points the reader to a vibrant choiceabundant life! If you long to wake up to Gods unrestricted mercy, unconditional love, and supernatural power, read this book!

C AROL K ENT , speaker and author of Between a Rock and a Grace Place

I sat down to read Lazarus Awakening and quickly realized this wasnt going to be a fluffy read Id soon forget. I needed a pen and a journal and time to take notes. Lazarus Awakening is full of life-changing truth and application. Through Joannas beautiful teaching, God is calling us all to resurrected life!

A NGELA T HOMAS , speaker and best-selling author of Do You Know Who I Am?

Lazarus Awakening firmly establishes Joanna Weaver as one of the finest Christian writers of our time. Spiritually insightful, personally compelling, and magnificently written, this is one of the best books Ive read in decades. We know shes walking the journey shes inviting us to take. I believe Lazarus Awakening will awaken many more believers to this extraordinarily gifted author.

D ONNA P ARTOW , speaker and best-selling author of Becoming a Vessel God Can Use

The word that wouldnt leave me when reading Lazarus Awakening is deep. Joanna Weavers words are rooted deep in Scripture, they dove deep into my heart, and they deeply impacted my emotions as Ive come to a better understanding that Jesus loves me because of who I am, not what Ive done. I cried many tears through these pages as my own questions were tackled, my own fears revealed. In the end Ive come away with a deeper understanding of what it means to be loved by God. I am blessed, I am loved, and Jesus means more to me than ever before.

T RICIA G OYER , author of Blue Like Play Dough

If you worry that you are unworthy of Gods favor or you wonder why He doesnt intervene to prevent your pain, Lazarus Awakening will take you straight to the heart of His love for you. With warmth, honesty, and rich biblical insights, Joanna Weaver deftly walks you through the agony of the loss and the triumph of resurrection to reveal how friendship with Jesus makes all the difference.

J ENNIFER R OTHSCHILD , author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark and Me, Myself, and Lies and founder of WomensMinistry.net

I needed to read this book. You need to read this book. Sometimes we can get stuck in sin-sickness, living a Christian life that is neither glorious nor free. Joanna Weaver reminds us of all that Jesus offers us when we step out of the tomb of our own making into the joyous life He has created us for. Lazarus Awakening awakened something in me.

S USANNA F OTH A UGHTMON , author of My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself

Joanna Weaver has given us two insightful books about some of Jesuss closest friendsMartha and Mary. Lazarus Awakening completes the trilogy by taking an inspiring look at the life of their brother, Lazarus. A closer look at his story will help you draw closer to Christ as His intimate friend. I recommend it.

A NN S PANGLER , author of Praying the Names of God

A LSO BY J OANNA W EAVER

With This Ring: Promises to Keep

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World:
Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life

Having a Mary Spirit:
Allowing God to Change Us from the Inside Out

L AZARUS A WAKENING
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked ( DRA ) are from the Douay-Rheims 1899 American edition, published by the John Murphy Company, Baltimore, Maryland. Accessed through Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/versions/Douay-Rheims-1899-American-Edition-DRA-Bible/#copy. Scripture quotations marked ( KJV ) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotation marked ( NCV ) are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Personal stories appearing in this book are used by permission. In some instances the names or details have been changed to protect the privacy of the persons involved.

Copyright 2011 by Joanna Weaver

Published in association with the literary agency of Janet Kobobel Grant, Books & Such, 5926 Sunhawk Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95409.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weaver, Joanna.
Lazarus awakening : finding your place in the heart of God / Joanna Weaver. 1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-44497-4
1. Lazarus, of Bethany, Saint. 2. Raising of Lazarus (Miracle) 3. Bible. N.T. John XI-XII, 1-11Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 4. God (Christianity)Love. I. Title.
BS2460.L3W43 2011
226.506dc22
2010037933

v3.1

To my father, Cliff Gustafson.
Passionate follower and friend of Jesus Christ,
lover of people,
unwinder of graveclothes.

Daddy,
I met Jesus the day I met you.
Thank you for living your life out loud for God.
Im so honored to be your daughter.

Ive been told that before starting a musical composition, Johann Sebastian Bach would write two letters at the top of the score: J.J., which stood for Jesu Juva. Jesus, help. Those two words have been my daily prayer, and if this book ministers to you in any way, it is all due to Jesus Christmy Helper and my Friend. More than ever before, Im discovering the truth of these words: Without Him, I can do nothing.

But Im also grateful to a family who has loved and supported me through the process. To my dear parents, Cliff and Annette Gustafson. Thank you for interceding daily for me and this book and for making your house so much fun that at times Joshua didnt want to leave! To my older kidsJessica, John Michael, and my precious new daughter-in-love, Kamithank you for the encouraging text messages and phone prayers that carried me through. And to my husband, John. There just arent enough words. I cant imagine who Id be, let alone where Id be, without you.