"Wisdom of the Day"

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." -- Hebrews 11:1-2

A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
(Mark 5:21-43)

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'"

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the Teacher anymore?"

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing?" The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said, "Talitha Koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

How cool is that! Our Heavenly Father is compassionate, loving, and he has complete control over everything. Even sickness and death! If he can resolve such devastating events such as these -- with just the power of his word -- then how much easier is it for him to heal the various struggles that befall us every day of our lives. We need only trust Him, have faith in his promises, and know that no matter what happenes, he is in complete control.

Afterall, as he said... "Don't be afraid; just believe."

UPDATE: - (11:51 PM)
After I posted this, I decided I needed to offer a word of warning in taking this wisdom too literally. You may have heard the recent news about the parents who put their trust in the Lord to heal their dying daughter, refused her vital medical treatment (which could have saved her), and then when she died, expected God to bring her back to life.

I think it needs to be said: Yes, we should put our complete trust in the Lord, have faith, and believe that he will resolve your struggles -- just as he promises. But we need to understand that our trust also requires the wisdom God already gave us. And that is the wisdom to know that God's healing power often exists within the means and blessings of the logical world around us.

Faith is often blind, yes... but it should never be foolish. If we believe wholeheartedly in God's promises, and he offers us a set of stairs... do we still jump off the cliff and hope he catches us?

"Don't be afraid; just believe." But be open to taking the stairs too.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:21 PM  I   I  0 comments