Dave spoke this morning from Mark 5:22-43, a story of two miracles for two desperate people.
So often in lfie, reality hits us flat in the face. This can be in the form of an emergency or crisis which can leave us questioning where God is, but it can also be in the form of ongoing suffering and pain. We like to be in control of life and find it difficult to bear such times, even though God’s word assures us that God will never test us beyond our limits. (1 Cor 10:13)
In this narrative, two people were facing challenging situations: Jairus’ situation was sudden, precipitated by his 12 year old daughter’s sudden illness, and the unnamed woman’s was lingering, caused by twelve years of haemorrhaging which had left her financially impoverished and a social outcast. These two people were at opposite ends of the social spectrum: Jairus was a synagogue leader, a well-respected man who was used to being in charge of things; the woman was one whose illness left her ‘unclean’ and on the outskirts of society. For her to even approach Jesus amongst a crowd of people meant taking her courage and faith in both hands.
Jesus responded to both of them with compassion and mercy, though to Jairus, this unexpected delay as Jesus questioned who had touched Him must have seemed a devastating blow, for during this time, he was contacted with the news that his daughter had died. He must have felt resentful about the delays and as though there was no point bothering Jesus any further, but Jesus urged him to keep on believing. In both cases, Jesus spoke about faith and the need to trust Him and believe in Him – and both these people ended up seeing miracles as a result.
The choice to believe is there before us each day. Do we listen to the faithless crowd who urge us not to bother Jesus anymore or do we focus our faith on Christ? When we reach out to Him in holy desperation and true faith, He is there to meet us and to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
