Reading this morning in Mark’s gospel (5:21-43) about the daughter of Jairus, I could not help but think of what we are going through today with the COVID-19 issue.
Jairus had approached Jesus about coming to his house to heal his daughter, who was on the brink of death. Jesus begins the journey to the little girl and gets sidetracked along the way by a woman with an issue of blood. That issue is taken care of and in the process, people arrived to tell Jairus not to continue to trouble the Master since his daughter was now dead. However, Jesus “refused to listen” continued on to the home of Jairus with his disciples, Peter, James and John. When they arrived at the home of Jairus, Jesus found a noisy crowd of people weeping and wailing. Jesus spoke to the situation words of life and not death and “the people began to ridicule and make fun of Him, but He threw them all out of the house.” Mark 5:40 Jesus then prayed and commanded death to leave and the little girl arose.
So, a very familiar story and what does it mean for us today?
In the day we are in with the Corona Virus confusion, we hear a lot of words of death. Death of the economy. Death of the small businesses. Death of jobs. Some have already given up on dreams and goals. Churches are fearing closing while others are in rebellion against government mandates. People are getting their temperature checked before being allowed into retail stores. The air waves are filled with fear and anxiety ridden rhetoric. There has never been a day like today in this nation. What can we learn from this story in Mark’s gospel? Here’s a few things we must know:
- There is only one real source of help: Jairus went to Jesus for help. Jairus spoke words of faith: “Come and lay hands on her and she will live” (5:23). He refused to accept that his daughter would not survive. He went to the trouble to find and approach Jesus. How do we see our jobs or business or economy? Are we speaking life or death? Do we trust in the power of God to heal, revive, restore or completely re-invent our lives? Can we accept our miracle on God’s terms and not ours? God has the answer and He is the only source. (Matt. 6:33)
- Sometimes it may look like God gets distracted: Surely Jairus was in a hurry to get Jesus to his daughter and what does Jesus do but stop to have a conversation with a woman who touched His garment for healing. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and the lady with the issue of blood interrupted Jesus with her faith. Would our faith stop Jesus in His tracks and cause Him to ask “who touched me?” (5:30).
- Know it is important who is walking with us: Jesus would not let anyone go with him except Peter, James and John. Is there a reason? We must have people who can see the promise and not the problem. We must have people who do not speak contrary to the faith that is necessary to receive God’s plan in our life. Jesus knew who He could take with Him. Do you?
- Noise Happens! They encountered noise! It says when they entered the home, they encountered a noisy uproar among the people, for they were all weeping and wailing” (5:38) People like to bemoan the negative situations. People like to weep and wail over what they see rather than find hope and joy in what is possible. Do we realize there is a certain type of people that are drawn to despair, doom and destruction? They will weep and wail with the best of them and then make fun and ridicule anyone who speaks words of faith, as did Jesus (5:40a).
- Get rid of the naysayers: (5:40b) The Scripture tells us Jesus “threw them all outside”. This word “threw” does not indicate he suggested they leave, but is the same word used to indicate driving out demons with force and authority. We must use force in getting rid of the negative that will rob us of our victory. What if Jesus had just turned around and left? What if He would have allowed all the noisy confusion to co-exist with the faith that needed to come forth. Our life may depend on “throwing out” the negative naysayers and only allowing those of faith to go in with us. Sometimes those naysayers are in our own head…our own thoughts. We must destroy every word that tries to exalt itself against the truth of God’s Word (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
- Speak to the problem: Jesus spoke directly to the problem. He didn’t call for three hours of prayer. He didn’t need to because He was already “prayed up”. This is why it is important to stay ready for the situations that appear in life. Don’t wait for the crisis to hit to try to develop a relationship with God and to learn His Word. Jesus took the will of God into the crisis with him and spoke God’s intention to the little girl…LIFE!
- Don’t forget the natural: The first thing Jesus said after the young girl arose was “bring her something to eat”. There is a natural side of life that is necessary. Sometimes we can get so super spiritual that we forget we have something to do ourselves. Don’t’ forget to do your part. Don’t forget there are natural laws that need to be abided by. And, don’t forget that a miracle is a supernatural interruption into natural situations. Death was natural, but God interrupted it with a miracle because it was out of time. Now the girl was alive again and would continue living her natural life. She needed food.
We are living in a day like never before. God is still the God of miracles. God still interrupts untimely and ungodly events to fulfil destinies. But there are some things we must do.
Why not start with how Jairus started…Seeking God? He called upon God (prayer) to heal his daughter and then he followed Jesus to the miracle. We have no record of Jairus complaining, moaning, groaning or coming into agreement with the naysayers. We have no record of him being impatient or arguing with Jesus when he took the time to speak with the woman that was healed along the way. He simply accompanied Jesus, believing that God wanted his daughter healed and that He would heal her.
Do you know what God wants for you? His Word tells us. It does not say untimely death. It does not say failure in business or jobs. It says He heals all of our diseases (Psalm 103:3). It says even though thousands may fall around us, we will not fear, and it will not come near us (Psalm 91:5-7). We are told that what we put our hands to prospers (Psalm 1:1-3) and if we speak God’s Word continuously, we will find success (Joshua 1:8).
It may look like God is distracted at times, but He knows exactly where He is going, and He understands His plan for you. God will always have a plan for our situation. And when needed, God will also have a miracle.
Stay confident in the days ahead. Remember, it all began by Seeking God!
Pastor Donna
