Jesus by our sides

Luke 8:52-56: “Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, ‘Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.’ 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Little girl, arise.’ 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.”

In this part of the scripture, Jesus is on His way to help heal a young girl who had been struck with sickness and is near death. Her father, a man named Jairus, rushed to Jesus and fell down at His feet in order to beg Jesus to heal her. Jairus was a religious leader himself, however like all the other leaders of that day he knew the real Jesus and His power. Jairus knew that only Jesus was the one who could help his little girl. Jesus was happy to go to the girl and heal her. While they were on their way, a woman who had health issues needed also to be healed. So as Jesus was walking by and the crowds began to press in, she reached out with all her might that she may be able to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, for she knew that if she just touched Him she would be healed. She was and in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the moment, Jesus stopped because He knew some one had touched Him and power had gone out of Him.

Amid all the confusion and the crowd, a detachment from Jairus’ house came by to tell him not bother Jesus anymore, for Jairus’ daughter was dead. For many of us, just knowing our child was sick and on the verge of dying would have made us a little crazy. Then just when we get to the one who can saver her some other woman stops the master. Then all of a sudden the father of this sick little girl hears that his precious child is dead. Does Jairus have a nutty or become infuriated? No, he simply trusts in Jesus. Jesus comforts Jairus and lets him know everything will be all right. Jairus needs to exercise that same faith that he had when he went and to get Jesus in the first place. He does, and amid the laughter and ridicule that the servants and bystanders we causing, Jairus’ little girl rises from her “death” bed.

Many times before the storms come we have bold declarations. We say we will follow Jesus into every circumstance. Sometimes that means following Him into hard and difficult situations, sometimes even the room of a dying loved one. The faith and trust we had before that time is the same we need while in that room. Sometimes God heals them by calling them home, and sometimes He heals them physically before our eyes. Nevertheless, true discipleship is being able to say, “Jesus is enough for me, whether things turn out my way or not.” We need to be able to recognize that Jesus is always by your side, right in the room, closer then you can imagine.

Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Judges 10-11 New Testament Luke 9:1-36