This morning as you wake up... things may seem pretty bleak. In fact, you may wonder if this will be just another day of treading water... staying afloat...surviving. You don’t have a vacation on the calendar, your back still hurts, and the bill collector will be calling at dinnertime just like he always does.
Another 24 hours... another 7 days... another month.
The dream you once had seems all but dead. What little heartbeat it has seems distant now. Things have skidded to a stop with a spouse that seems uninterested and a life that is far from the one you used to tell the kids at school you’d have when you grew up.
You ask: When am I going to feel better? When will it stop hurting? When is it my turn? What am I going to do?
God, where are you?
Sound familiar? If this is you.. or even someone you know. I have great news on this Thursday.
The Bible talks about Jairus... the leader of a local synagogue crying out to Jesus to heal his very sick daughter. Jesus agrees and walks with the man when He is stopped mid-way to heal a woman who touches His robe. In the few minutes that transpires with the old woman.... something very profound happens... let’s pick up the story in Mark 5:36
“While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”
But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Mark 5:35-36
Jairus’ life was spiraling out of control. He was doing his best at the synagogue but he knew that each day that he returned home, he’d find his daughter deteriorating. He’d prayed... he’d begged... he’d pleaded... he felt hopeless, helpless, and hurting. The dream he’d had about experiencing life with his daughter was rapidly fading away...just as his daughter’s heartbeat began it’s slow decrescendo to its final beat.
Jairus’ life was not what he thought it would be... He, too, asked the same questions...
When am I going to feel better? When will it stop hurting? When is it my turn? What am I going to do?
God, where are you?
Then He learned where God was... He was on a boat heading his way across a lake. Jairus had heard about Jesus... had learned of His ability to do the impossible... and ran with everything he had toward hope.
Jesus was his only hope. Jesus was his daughter’s only hope. (Jesus is our only hope)
Believing in Christ’s power... Jairus reached out to Jesus and begged Him to save his ailing daughter.
(...To save your broken dreams. To save your wounded heart. To save that failing marriage. To save what seems un-saveable.)
When word came that Jairus’ daughter was dead... hope seemed lost.
(...When word came that your dream was hopeless... when divorce seemed like an inevitability... when the only choice you thought you had was to give up...)
But hope wasn’t lost. It came to Jairus (us) in six little words.
“Don’t be afraid, just have faith.”
Ever been afraid of what’s coming?
Ever been afraid of what’s been?
Ever been afraid of losing control?
Ever been afraid that God won’t be there?
Make no mistake, God will be there. In fact, He’s there now. He’s working in your life where you can’t see Him... and He’s mending the cracks in your armor. Jesus will never allow one day to pass where your faith goes unnoticed or unrewarded.
God comes through every single time. Every single circumstance.
His ability to heal lives is nothing new...and it’s not exclusive to leaders of synagogues. When we have faith... when we reject fear... when we put our trust in Him... things change for the better.
Jesus Christ is forever faithful... and your life, in Him, will only get better.
