Do you ever feel that life is hopeless? That nothing works out as you hoped? I have to admit I’ve had moments when those thoughts have crossed my mind. In Mark 5:21-43 we find two people who could have been forgiven for thinking their situation was hopeless.
Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, came to Jesus and fell at his feet,pleading for the live of his daughter who was dying.
We need to bring our children and their needs to Jesus now, not wait till they are in a life threatening situation. But sometimes through no fault of their own, our children end up in life threatening situations. This happened to our daughter several years ago, when a severe illness appeared totally out of left field. The doctor and local hospital swung into action and transported her to Sydney for treatment.
Like Jairus, we brought our daughter to Him in prayer. But it was not only us who prayed. The youth group she belonged to organized their own prayer vigil. So, I feel I can relate to Jairus in many ways.
Without hesitation Jesus went with Jairus. Jesus acts when His people bring their requests to Him.
In our case,the moment people started to pray the Lord acted to begin the healing process of our daughter. We were aware of being blessed and upheld as other members of our church prayed and visited once she was well enough to have visitors. A poem titled Plasma Exchange about this time is included in Kaleidoscope,
Among the crowd who followed Jesus and pressed around Him, was a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. Despite the care of doctors she never got better, only worse. Despite the length of her illness and the fact that no-one else had been able to help her, this woman’s faith was so strong she believed she had only to touch Jesus’ garments and she would be made well.
Is your faith and mine as strong as this in what seems like a hopeless situation?
Even with the large crowd around Him, Jesus had time for the individual. On his way to heal the daughter of Jairus, Jesus could have declared himself too busy to tend to this woman’s needs. He did not.
Do we have time for the individual? We should never be so busy doing God’s work that we do not have time for a man or woman in need.
The woman touched his cloak and felt in her body she was ‘freed from her suffering,’ verse 29. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Because of her bleeding problem this woman was unclean. She should never have even been among the crowd. Because of her problem, this woman was a social outcast as anyone who came into contact with her became in the eyes of the law ceremonially unclean, Leviticus 15:25-33. Yet, so strong was her faith, she dared to come into the presence of Jesus and seek His help.
Will you a dare to come to Jesus with what seems impossible in your life?
Jesus could have left it at that. He did not. He knew that while this woman needed healing she needed to make sure she carried no guilt for having dared believe. She needed to know she was healed completely, so he asked who had touched him. No-one is ever unnoticed by Jesus. The woman went forward and fell at His feet. Jesus declared her freed from her physical and spiritual aliment. Jesus commended her faith in front of the crowd.
Would He commend your faith?
But what of Jairus who had been waiting for Jesus to move on and heal his daughter? In the next blog we’ll look at the situation confronting Jairus.
Bible references are from the New International Version
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