“While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher any more.’ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’” (Luke 8:49–50, NIV84)
Jesus had stopped everyone on the way to Jairus’s house, where He was heading to heal his daughter, because a woman who had been sick for 12 years had reached out to Jesus with a faith-filled touch. He had stopped to address the woman, only to hear the news that the girl He was going to heal was now dead. Have you ever had one of those days, filled with good things but not enough time to get them all done? In the end, you feel terrible because someone was missed. I often feel like that in Haiti, where people stand in line for hours to get glasses or see a doctor or a dentist and then have to be turned away because we just can’t see them all. This is like the situation experienced by Jesus and everyone surrounding this event. It was too late! Jesus didn’t get there in time. So Jairus’s friends told him, “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” I can’t imagine what Jairus was feeling! The despair had to be intense. But the good news is that the event did not end there.
Jesus then told Jairus not to worry and He continued to make His way to Jairus’s house. Jesus told Jairus, “Just believe, and she will be healed.” At this point, what else was there to do but believe? But believe what? Believe that Jesus is who He said He is. He is not bound by the natural laws, because He created them. Believe that the One who gave life could bring it back again. It had happened before; in the days of Elijah and Elisha things like that took place. Jairus believed Jesus and was blessed to experience his daughter brought back to life by Jesus.
We, too, need to walk by the eyes of faith and believe that Jesus can meet our needs. Nothing is too difficult for God! We need to believe and live our lives with this confidence.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
