I am one of those people who think that arriving five minutes early is being late. I fuss if I am not “on time,” and have often made life miserable for those around me who do not carry my sense of timing.
There are other people (some in my family) who live by “ish” time. When you ask them what time they will be over, they reply with something like “5-ish,” which really means any time between 5 and 10. To say I grow impatient waiting is an understatement.
Despite my sense of time, one thing is clear, God’s timing will bewilder us. He rarely operates according to my schedule. It seems I am always “waiting for God.”
Last Sunday at The Way we looked at Jesus and Jairus in Mark 5:21-43. Jairus was a man of authority, but as so often happens, desperation drove him to do something he would not normally. His little 12-year-old daughter was at the point of death and out of love for her, he found himself at the feet of a Galilean carpenter. Jairus’ only hope was that Jesus would get there in time to stop her death.
On the way to Jairus’ home, a woman with a chronic illness touches Jesus and is healed. When Jesus’ perceives that power (dunamis) has gone from Him, He stops the parade and questions the woman. Can you imagine Jairus’ anxiety in the delay? While Jesus is talking to the woman, Jairus receives the news he feared, his daughter has died.
What does Jesus say to him? “I’m sorry?” No, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” [vs 36 HCSB]
Jesus is telling Jairus, “Trust me,” and therein is the dilemma we often face. Can we trust Jesus when His timing is different from ours? Can we trust Him when everything is crashing down upon us and what we asked of Him is not immediately coming?
Jairus had no choice but to trust Jesus. There was no one else who could meet his need. We, too, must trust, because truthfully, there is no one else who can meet our need.Pat