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).   

Lessons from the Battlefield, part 9: cooperation

2 Chronicles 29:31-35

 

The number of the burnt offerings:  70 bulls, 100 rams, 200 lambs, 600 bulls, 3,000 sheep.  But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings, therefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests….

 

There were not enough priests to get the job done, not for lack of priests but lack of preparation, and the work was not completed.  Perhaps you have never skinned an animal before, but it is a terrible job.  It is nasty, smelly, and a bloody mess.  There’s no way to do it and remain clean.  Skinning 3,970 animals of any size would have been an unbelievable operation, but skinning that many animals the size of bulls, goats, and sheep would be impossible to accomplish in just one day.

The Levites were competent to do the job, but it was not their usual work.  Amazingly, however, when it came time to skin the sacrifices, there was no arguing or casting blame.  There is no indication that the Levites begrudged the work.  They simply saw a job that needed doing, recognized that their brothers were unable to complete their assigned jobs, rolled up their sleeves, and went to work.  

There was such a spirit of cooperation and charity that everyone worked side by side until the entire job was done.  They had servant hearts. We too need to approach the work of God with the attitude of a servant, whether in our churches, our families, or our daily lives. In fact, we need to work together, across denominational lines, in such a way that the world stands in awe of what Christians get accomplished because of the loving way they work together to get the job done 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might...  (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NASB)

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).   

Lessons from the Battlefield, part 8: Young Hezekiah, part 2

 “Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.”  

2 Chronicles 29:36

 

The priests and Levites had worked hard cleansing and preparing the temple and they worked even harder sacrificing all the animals for the sin offering.  The musicians had prepared and played special music.  It had been a magnificent day as they re-opened the temple. 

It would have been tempting to rejoice about what THEY had done or give Hezekiah credit for the re-opening of the temple.  After sixteen years of King Ahaz and his ungodly reign, however, they were more than willing to give Jehovah credit. 

​God had prepared a wonderful blessing, but a tremendous amount of work was required to receive it.  When the “gift” God prepared finally arrived, they recognized that, unless God had paved the way, their efforts would have been nothing.

 

 It is important that we, too, understand that all our plans, hard work, and expended energy are of no eternal value unless the plan and the path are designed and paved by God Himself. Equally important is giving credit for our victories and successes where credit is due - to Almighty God, and kit ourselves. 

Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. (Psalms 127:1 NASB)

Waiting for Jesus, part 5: distractions

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, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. (Luke 8:42-44 NASB)

Jairus had an emergency. That's all you could call it. His only daughter was dying and wouldn't last long. He had finally had the courage to come to Jesus, and the Master was on His way, but if they didn't hurry, it would be too late!  He knew she would not last long. How frightening it must have been to see the crowd pressing in on Jesus. They would surely slow them down. "We are not going to make it!" he must have feared. Jairus probably wanted to howl in frustration and push people away. 

Jesus, however, would not be hurried. Every person along His path mattered to Him. Before they reached Jairus' house, He would stop for someone else in need, seemingly delaying the miracle Jairus longed to see, and making the healing of his daughter increasingly more unlikely. 

God's timing is never ours, is it? We want Him to intervene now, to make our situation better now, to ease the suffering now. Because God is omnipresent in time, the same yesterday, today, and forever, He operates on eternal time, not mortal time. What seems like a delay to us may be just another opportunity for God to demonstrate His great mercy, His great power. Sometimes, the delay is designed to teach us patience, waiting, faith, none of which can be learned by instant intervention. 

There are times, however, when God is orchestrating a solution so finely tuned that delay is needed to bring about a greater result, to bring Him greater glory. Those times are always worth the wait, but oh how difficult that waiting can seem! That's the kind of waiting Jairus had, and it was terrible to him. His daughter's life, his greatly loved daughter's life, hung by a slender thread and time was running out. 

Are you waiting for divine intervention? Does it seem that God is slow in answering your prayers, in meeting your need?  Peter was writing about the second coming of Christ, but his words are equally applicable here. 

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9 NASB)

He has a plan. It is for good and not evil. He will not be thwarted. Trust Him, no matter how long it takes. 

Pray today that we and our loved ones would wait for God to move rather than trying to take matters into our own hands. Pray that we would wait for God's perfect provision. 

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Link to last night's tiny post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/haiku-1.html

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Please continue to pray about the terrorists and for them, protection for the persecuted church, and those who are at great risk on a daily basis. 

Haiku #1

In silence, be still.

God moves around and within.

Hush now and listen.

Waiting for Jesus, part 4: The mustard seed of faith

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)

In the previous post, we looked at the request of Jairus. Today, we look at the faith that brought Jairus to his request. 

Jairus, the unlikely beseecher, had come to Jesus in desperation. He had one daughter, not yet a teenager, and he loved her with all his heart. She was sick and clearly dying. He had watched as long as he could stand it. Undoubtedly, the doctors of the time had tried to help without success. Almost certainly, Jairus had tried every possible remedy, prayed every possible prayer, made every possible sacrifice. Jairus had done all he could do, and she was still dying. He had failed to save his dearly loved daughter. 

How do we know this? He was a father who loved his daughter. He had position and likely wealth, as well. His daughter had been sick and now she was dying. A loving father would have been seeking remedies from the time she became seriously ill, and he had the resources to procure the help she needed. It turned out that there was not enough money to save her. 

It is likely that Jesus was his last hope. She was already dying, and very near death when he approached Jesus, but he approached Him with faith. "Come. We need you. She will die without You," was the essence of his request. He might have come to Jesus with the very last bit of hope he had left, his last grain of faith, but it was enough. 

And He said to them, "...if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. (Matthew 17:20 NASB)

That mustard seed of faith in Jairus was enough. It was enough to take him to the feet of Jesus, enough to voice his need, enough to call on Jesus for help. It was enough. Everything else depended on Jesus, and He is always enough. 

Are you in a desperate situation?  Have you tried everything at your disposal without success? Are you down to the last shred of hope? Your last mustard seed of faith? What a perfect place to be!   Stop striving and take your situation with your mustard seed of faith to Jesus. "Come. We need you. We are lost without you." That little mustard-seed-prayer of Jairus was enough, and Jesus responded with action. Immediately, He was on his way, and He will respond to your mustard-seed-prayer, as well. 

Take your need to Jesus. He is always enough. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/tillas-tail-or-angel-named-anna-by-dr.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.