For Someone Else

For Someone Else

""Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He 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. And 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 from 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 people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “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 leader, 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 to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.""

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A few weeks ago, I was Jairus, seeking God to urgently answer my prayers. Fetching him and bringing Him to my place of need so he could perform His wonders right before my eyes. And then, a sick woman stumbled onto our path and distracted Jesus from my need with nothing but a simple a touch. The temptation to be angry at this moment was real, I asked for His help first, girl, wait your turn! I wonder if the real Jairus was feeling the same way? He spent his time tracking down Jesus without a GPS or an AirTag and desperately pleaded with him to hurry back and heal his daughter of her ailments; any delay would've been costly for Jairus and his family, as we see played out in the rest of the versus. So, once Jairus reached his destination after the interruption only to find the priest and wailing women there for his daughter, I'm sure he was feeling devastated.

For me and my situation the only thing at steak was my peace of mind, which doesn't seem to come close to comparison with the life or death of Jairus's daughter. But as for my counterpart, the women in my story, it was a matter of eternal life or death. Which, even I can agree, is far more important. I realized that if Jairus had not sought the Lord that day then the paths of the woman with the issue of blood and Jesus may have never crossed. It was because of Jairus's need that the woman was healed. Sometimes, while we are experiencing distress and working though our own messes, when we seek after the Lord in that chaos, it allows space for others to receive the healing they've been so desperately searching for. As our faith is tested, people are watching. We can cry out "why me, God, why me" or we can seek His face and make room for others to be healed along the way. And guess what, God still made time to take care of Jairus's need.

Not everything that happens too you is happening for you, sometimes, it's happening too you for someone else. Someone who desperately needs Jesus is watching how you react to that situation and they just might get the healing they need if they can watch you earnestly seek after God. It's a the humble act of faith that creates room for God to do His work. And don't get discouraged for God makes time to heal all His children, in His own way, in His own timing. He will make time for you too.