Waiting for Jesus, part 23: out of the crowd

And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, (Luke 8:40-43 NASB)

As you may remember, Jesus had just returned from His exciting boat ride to the Gerasene region, where He healed the Gerasene demoniac. There was a crowd waiting for Him when He returned, and they quickly surrounded Him. Jairus, the synagogue official whose only daughter was dying, and a woman with an incurable hemorrhage were both part of the crowd. Everyone in that crowd was there for a reason. Everyone was there to gain something. Either they were looking for entertainment, hoping to see Jesus do something exciting, or they wanted enlightenment, hoping to learn more of this radical life of love about which He spoke. Some of the people in that crowd were there, however, because they had reached a point of utter hopelessness and needed a divine intervention. They had come because Jesus was the last hope they had left. 

It is not likely that Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage were the only two in the crowd that day with desperate situations. It is not likely that they were the only ones who were hoping for Jesus to help them, yet they are the only two recorded as receiving help from Jesus. Why is that? 

There is something radically different about Jairus and the woman in comparison to the crowd. Jairus and the woman both stepped away from the crowd and toward Jesus. They reached out to Him, admitted their need, and asked Him to help. It is critical to understand this concept. The people who kept their place in the crowd might have been entertained and they might have been informed, but they were not personally transformed by the power of Almighty God. It was only the two, the ones who stepped up to Jesus, who received all they hoped and more. 

This is important for us to understand. If we want all that Jesus longs to give, we cannot stay as just a face in the crowd. We cannot just talk about wanting Him to help. We have to step out of the crowd, step away from the "wanting" crowd, and step up to Jesus. When we step up to Him, however, we are not just receiving. Jairus knelt at Jesus' feet and gave Him his pride and his control. Nothing was held back. He put his dearly loved daughter in the hands of Jesus, and he left her there. 

Once that was done, Jairus walked with Jesus. They walked together toward the solution of his need. Jairus did not just tell Jesus what he needed and go his way. Jairus stayed at Jesus' side. He walked with Him, and it is what we need to do, too. 

At our place of utter hopelessness, we need to do more than dump our trouble at the feet of Jesus. We need to dump ourselves and our life. The old life needs to go in the pile at His feet and we need to begin walking with Jesus in that new life only He can give. Dear ones, Jesus means to transform more than our situations. He means to transform US. What we need to decide is are we willing to be transformed? 

Selah. Pause and consider. 

Why are you a part of the crowd around Jesus? Do you want only a solution or do you want transformation?  Are you willing to put everything at the feet of Jesus, and not just your problem?  Give every bit to Jesus, nothing held back. You will find, like Jairus, that what Jesus does in response is utterly amazing. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/lessons-from-battlefield-part-19.html

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Waiting for Jesus, part 20: believing until we see

And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. (Luke 8:53-55 NASB)

Poor Jairus. He was a jumble of emotion and must have been near the breaking point. First, there had been the anxiety of his daughter's illness, then the fear when he realized how sick she was, the desperation as he sought healing for her, the rending when he became willing to break with his synagogue and seek help from Jesus. He finally made it to the feet of Jesus only to have a devastating interruption that lingered just a little too long, the heartbreaking news that his daughter had died, the death march to the house with Jesus, and the insanity of Jesus saying a dead daughter was asleep. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

In the next moment, Jesus reached out His arm, picked up the little girl's limp hand, and spoke the two words Jairus would remember as long as he lived. "Child, arise!"  There was not a moment's hesitation. Immediately, she got up, because when the Son of God says arise, that is exactly what you do. 

Imagine for a moment how Jairus felt when he saw that strong right arm reach out for his daughter's hand, when he head those words calling his daughter back. Did his fear, desperation, or the interruptions along the way matter then? They did not. All that mattered then was that his daughter sat up and opened her eyes. Everything that had happened before faded into unimportance in the light of the work of God. 

The truth is that everything fades in importance in comparison to the work of God, but we often fail to recognize it until that very last moment. Because we lack the omniscience to know the future, all we see is where we've been and where we are. When the movement of God finally comes, it is the most joyful, amazing thing imaginable because we truly could not see it coming. 

We, of course, only want to believe what we see, but Jesus said we were blessed when we believed without seeing. (John 20:29). That's what Jairus did. He believed Jesus could save his daughter long before he saw Jesus save his daughter. When all hope was gone and his daughter was dead, Jairus stayed the course, still waiting on Jesus. In the end, he was so glad he did. 

When we combine obedience to the admonition to "fear not" with the command to "only believe", trusting our Lord to move in our situation of utter hopelessness, we can expect an amazing intervention of God. It may not look like we expect. It may not come when we want it, but when God moves to intervene on our behalf, it will not only be unmistakeable, it will be unforgettable. 

We learned this song as children, but it is no less true today.  

"Trust and obey. 

For there's no other way,

To be happy with Jesus

Than to trust and obey."

(John H Sammis 1887)

Are you in the midst of an utterly hopeless situation? Take your eyes off that situation and focus them on Jesus. Look to Him, trust and obey, and hold firm until His redemption comes. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-soap-box-politicians.html

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Please continue to pray for those who have linked their lives to the evil of terrorism, that they would be brought out of darkness into light. Pray for those in their path of destruction to remain firm in their faith and to be protected in times of great danger. 

Waiting for Jesus, part 19: Stay or Go?

Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" (Luke 8:52-54 NASB)

At that moment when Jesus was thinning the crowd, Jairus and his wife could not know for sure what Jesus would do, nor how He would do it. The only thing they knew for sure was that He was likely to do something, and by their presence, they consented to His way. 

When He started talking about their dead daughter still being alive, they laughed along with everyone else. Just sleeping? No, they didn't believe that. On the other hand, Jesus was there and there was never any telling what He would do next. It was a crossroads of faith for Jairus and his wife. They could wait to see what Jesus would do, or join the other mourners. They stayed. 

That staying may not seem profound to us, but it was a very powerful statement of faith. We want to be in charge, make decisions, make things happen. As humans, we've been making decisions, and often bad ones, since the Garden of Eden. Jairus, however, made a wonderful and wise decision that day. When Jesus appeared to be speaking nonsense, when He made no sense at all, Jairus stood still and stayed to see what Jesus would do. In that staying, he was saying, "I believe He can. I believe Jesus will do something, and that something will be good."

At the intersection of utter hopelessness and the intervention of God, there should be a big red sign. Stop. Selah. Pause and consider. Hold right there until your next move is clear. Be still until you can clearly see which direction to go. 

When Jesus picked up that little girl's hand and started speaking, Jairus knew without a doubt he had made the right choice. When God's deliverance comes, the wisdom of staying is always clear. It is in those moments just before His intervention that we have the greatest risk and greatest likelihood of moving on our own, making a terrible decision, and missing the most exciting moment of our lives. 

Be still dear ones. Do not rush ahead. There is something to learn at that crossroads of faith, and it is something that will change your life and your faith forever. Can you trust Jesus?  Yes, you can. Can you wait for Him to move? Yes, you can. You can, that is, if you will, and if you wait for Jesus instead of taking matters into your own hands, you will find that it was the best decision of your life. 

Wait for Jesus. You will be so glad you did. 

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Here's the link to last night's post:  http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-ready-for-christmas.html

Waiting for Jesus, part 8: Prayer of Abandon

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." (Luke 8:43-45 NASB)

Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus and begged Him to go with him to his house to see his dying daughter.  Jesus immediately responded by heading in that direction. It took faith for Jairus, the synagogue official, to fall at His feet in the presence of a crowd, and it took faith to ask Jesus to see his daughter and heal her. There was nothing at all wrong about his faith, nor about his asking. 

The woman with the hemorrhage also acted in faith. She, too, had a great need and she, too, took her need to Jesus. There is something about this quiet reaching for Him from behind that demonstrates a beautiful desperation. It is reminiscent of the woman with the alabaster vial who also worshipped "from behind" and was an act that said,  "I need the touch of God, whatever that may bring."  There is no doubt that she reached out to Jesus with the hope of healing, no doubt that she touched His fringe because of the symbolic authority and divine power it represented. It seems, though, that she simply brought her need to Jesus, without bringing a preconceived solution for Jesus to fulfill.  She wanted whatever resulted from touching the fringe of His garment. Her reaching out was, in its essence, the prayer that never fails. It was simply, "Thy will be done."

"Thy will be done" is an agonizingly difficult prayer for us. We are trained by our culture to place our order at the window and get that order fulfilled in a near-instant. In many ways, that behavior has made its way into our prayer life.  We have a tendency to place our "prayer order" with God and expect that order to be quickly filled. How incredibly arrogant is that? God must shake His head in wonder at our foolishness. 

How much better it would be if we simply  reached out to our Lord, offered Him our need, and submitted to His will!  We could be assured of having His perfect will every time, rather than our own. We could be certain of God's promises at work in our lives.

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)

There is a place for specific prayer. It helps us to see God's hand at work and easily recognize His answers to our prayers. Specific prayers are a vital part of our faith walk, but there must also be the prayers of utter abandon that say to God, "Your will, and not mine, be done."

Two people brought their needs to Jesus.   Jairus came with a great need and a specific solution in mind. The woman with the hemorrhage also came with a great need, but she left the manner of answering her prayer up to Jesus. Both prayers were answered that day, but only one was answered instantly. As the woman touched the fringe of His garment, the power of God flowed through her and healed her completely. 

Perhaps you, too, have a great need with a long-delayed solution. Isn't it time to take that need to Jesus with utter abandon? Ask Him to intervene in your situation in whatever way He sees best. No suggestions for God. No preconceived solutions. Ask for God's will. It's the only way to be sure you get His best.  

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-law-versus.html

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Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are struggling because of the tyranny of Boko Haram and their persecution of Christians. Do not forget that they are allies of ISIS (Islamic State).   

Waiting for Jesus, part 7: not just Jairus

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, (Luke 8:43 NASB)

It was not just Jairus who needed a miracle that day. Jairus was the one with position, authority, power and money. He was the visible and socially acceptable one in need. There was also a woman there that day who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. As a result, she was almost certainly anemic and physically exhausted. She must have felt as if she could barely put one foot in front of the other. To make matters worse, she had spent all the money she had seeking a cure, but no one could help. Exhausted, destitute, hopeless, she, too, needed a miracle.  

Because she was unclean, she did not dare to approach Jesus openly. To state it plainly, she sneaked up behind Jesus, hoping to secretly gain a miracle by touching the fringe of his robe. That "fringe" was a specific type of knotted threads, or tassels, positioned at the corners of his prayer shawl (tallit) that were highly symbolic of both the law of God and the name of God. In touching that fringe, she was symbolically touching the Divine, the power of God. 

This woman had no position, authority, power, or money. She barely had the strength to join the crowd, yet her need for a miracle was equally as great as the need of Jairus. More importantly, the compassion of Jesus toward her was equally as great as His compassion toward the need of Jairus. Her lack of importance in the eyes of the crowd did not affect her importance in the eyes of God one little bit. He loved her. She was as much a child of God as Jairus, and her Lord had time for her. He had time for her need. 

God had time for her, and He has time for our needs, as well. 

Selah. 

Pause and consider this great truth. Once again, we see the principle of greatest and least. Jairus was the greatest and the woman with the hemorrhage was the least, yet Jesus loved them both and willingly gave miraculous healing to them both.  Dear ones, even the least of us can count on our Lord for compassion, love, and ever-present help in time of trouble.  

Are you overwhelmed by your circumstances? Do you feel like a pariah, an outcast, because of those circumstances?  Our Lord has no less love for you, no less compassion toward you, no less willingness to help. It is not necessary to approach Him "from behind".  Take your needs to the feet of Jesus and allow Him to do with them as He will. 

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; (Psalms 46:1-2 NASB)

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Link to last night's post:  http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-cooperation.html

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Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are struggling because of the tyranny of Boko Haram and their persecution of Christians. Do not forget that they are allies of ISIS (Islamic State).   

Waiting for Jesus, part 6: divine delay.

...But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. (Luke 8:42-44 NASB

Jairus was desperate for Jesus to intervene on behalf of his daughter. Her life hung in the balance, and she was fading fast, but Jesus was on His way. Help would be there soon. 

The crowd was terrible. Everyone was pushing and pressing, trying to get next to Jesus. Before Jairus knew it, a sick woman, an unclean woman, was next to Jesus. No one talked about her problem. It was not a topic for polite conversation, but they all knew she was unclean. She had a sickness and had been unclean for twelve years. She hated her twelve-year-old sickness as much as Jairus loved his almost twelve-year-old daughter. 

The immediate problem with this woman in the crowd, Jairus knew, was that she had a hemorrhage. The law was clear about this kind of bleeding. She was unclean until seven days after it stopped. Even worse, if someone touched her, they became unclean until evening. 

'Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. (Leviticus 15:25 NASB)

Jairus must have watched in horror as this woman, this unclean woman, reached out for Jesus. She was just about to make Jesus unclean until evening! Unclean, just when Jairus needed a miracle. What Jairus didn't realize yet was that Jesus could make all things clean, make all illness whole. 

Those divine delays are so frightening and so frustrating, aren't they?  When we desperately need a miracle, the last thing we want is a delay. We want instant miracles, don't we?  In our desperation, we can easily lose our compassion and concern for others around us who also need a miracle. Our need is always greatest, at least to us, isn't it?  

From the moment that Jairus laid his need at the feet of Jesus, a miracle of divine intervention was unfolding. Jesus didn't forget about Jairus or his daughter when He stopped for the woman with the hemorrhage. Their divine intervention was still unfolding. The problem for Jairus was that the stop for the woman was not on his personal agenda. 

What about us? Are we in need of divine intervention? Do we need God to do something now? Have we become desperate about His "delay"?  If we could only see that "delay" the way God sees it, perhaps it would give us hope by demonstrating the great power about to be directed toward our own problem. Perhaps it would be cause for rejoicing. 

Take hope, dear ones. There is quite enough God, quite enough power, to handle the problems of others as well as your own crisis. Once you have relinquished your need to Jesus, leave it in His capable hands. He may not move when you want, but He's always right on time. He will not forget you, nor abandon you. 

Pray today for a heart that sees the needs around us as God sees them, and the faith to wait on a God until His answer is complete. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-young-hezekiah_25.html

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Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are struggling because of the tyranny of Boko Haram and their persecution of Christians. Do not forget that they are allies of ISIS (Islamic State).   

Waiting for Jesus, part 3: Jairus

And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him. (Luke 8:41-42 NASB)

Jairus was one of the people who had been waiting for Jesus. His name means "whom God enlightens" and that was exactly what had happened. He was a synagogue official, a part of the religious  bureaucracy, most of whom had opposed Jesus as a heretic. The word translated as official indicates that he was likely a chief official. He was part of the religious hierarchy.  Coming to Jesus would not be popular with his fellow officials. Falling at His feet would be shocking to them, and could well put his position of authority in jeopardy. 

Jairus, however, had an urgent need and realized that Jesus was the only one who could meet it. He didn't care who was shocked. His twelve year old daughter was gravely ill and near death. No one could save her. No one, that is, but Jesus.  When He returned from the Gerasenes, Jairus was quick to meet Him. Falling at the feet of Jesus, Jairus began to beg Him to come to his house to help his daughter. Jesus, ever compassionate and kind, did not refuse this heartsick father. He headed out. 

We will soon see the exciting events that surrounded Jairus and his daughter but, for today, let's look at Jairus and his request. He had a need, only Jesus could meet it, and in his desperation, he laid on the ground, in the dirt, and gave his need to Jesus. He begged Jesus for help. There is no indication that he ever doubted whether Jesus could help, nor that he ever doubted if Jesus would help. 

Jairus did not have a shopping list of interventions he recommended to Jesus. All he did was state his need (the ailing daughter) and invite Jesus into that need. (to go to his house).  He left the choice of intervention to Jesus, and it was a good thing he did. When Jairus approached Jesus, he wanted healing for his daughter. By the time Jesus arrived, what he needed was resuscitation for her. Jesus wisely gave him what he needed, not what he thought he wanted. In the end, Jairus would receive so much more by leaving the choice to Jesus. 

When we have situations beyond our control, is this what we do? Do we get on the floor at Jesus' feet and invite Him in to our situation, abandoning ourselves to His intervention? Do we leave the choice of intervention to Him or offer a list of things He needs to get done on our behalf?  There is a place for specific requests, but perhaps we could see even greater miracles if we left the choice of intervention to Jesus. 

Are you facing a difficult situation? Is a loved one in a desperate situation? Perhaps what is needed is a Jairus-type encounter with Jesus. Put your need at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to intervene as He sees fit. You, like Jairus, will be glad you did. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/friday-night-with-friends-checking.html

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Please continue to pray about the atrocities being committed around the world by radical jihadists and for those who face persecution and death on a daily basis. Pray for those who will be forced to recant their faith or die today. Pray, too, that, when that same persecution comes to our country, (and it will) we will be as brave and faithful as our brothers and sisters around the world.