But he took her by the
hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit
returned, and at once she stood up. – Luke 8:54-55
Years ago,
a young girl was traveling by train through the country. And since she had
never traveled so far by train before, she got pretty scared every time the
train approached a river. Whenever she looked through the window and saw a
river up ahead, she would start to panic. She couldn’t understand how the train
could possibly cross the river without crashing. But each time the train approached a river, a bridge appeared that
provided a way over. After this happened several times, the girl leaned back in
her chair, breathed a sigh of relief, and in faith-filled confidence said,
“Somebody put bridges for us all the way to where we’re going!”
Isn’t that
just like what God does for us? We go through life worried about the obstacles
we face. At times, the difficulties that lie ahead of us seem insurmountable! In
Luke 8:40-56, a man turned to Jesus for help—and at first it looked as if that
help came too late.
Jesus had
just arrived in town when one of the local synagogue rulers came to Jesus, fell
at his feet and pleaded with him to come to his house and heal his 12-year-old
daughter, who was on her deathbed. So, Jesus began following this man, Jairus,
to his home. But along the way, Jesus was interrupted when a woman touched the
hem of his robe and was healed after 12 years of internal bleeding.
When Jesus
took the time to talk to the woman who had been healed, we’re not told what
Jairus was saying or doing. But I imagine he was standing there impatiently
saying under his breath, “Jesus, could you please hurry up! My daughter doesn’t
have much more time. This woman is healed already. Let’s leave it at that and
get to my house before it’s too late.”
Well,
according to verse 49, while Jesus was still speaking to the woman, someone
came from Jairus’s house and told him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the
teacher any more.” Without a doubt, Jairus’s heart dropped. He was devastated.
But Jesus said to him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (v.
50). Jesus accompanied Jairus to his house and told the professional mourners
weeping outside, “Stop wailing. She is not dead but asleep” (v. 52). The
mourners laughed at him—after all, they recognized a dead body when they saw
one.
Jesus went
into the girl’s room with her parents and three of his disciples, Peter, James
and John. Jesus took the dead girl by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” The
Bible tells us: “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told
them to give her something to eat” (v. 55). Oh, wouldn’t it have been awesome
to see the look on the mourners’ faces when that little girl walked out of the
house munching on a chicken leg!
From a
seemingly hopeless situation, Jesus built a bridge that brought a dead girl
back to her parents. And from this point forward, Jesus’ followers would no
longer view death as death, but only as sleep. It became clearer to them than
ever before that the only thing that makes a body alive is the spirit inside
that body. This girl’s spirit had never died. Jesus simply put it back into her
body until God the Father was ready to call her spirit home to heaven.
This
remarkable episode in Jesus’ ministry teaches us three things:
1. Each of us is at a different place
in our faith journey, and Jesus is patient with each of us. Jairus, the bleeding woman, the
messenger from Jairus’ house and the mourners were all at different places in
their faith journey. But he didn’t scold or rebuke any of them. Likewise, each
of is at a different place spiritually—and as we follow Jesus, we need to follow
his example and be patient with each other.
2. Jesus wasn’t ever in a hurry. He
allowed himself time to be interrupted, and it was during these interruptions
that he did some of his best ministry. If your schedule is always full, and you’re always rushing
from place to place, you will miss out on some wonderful ministry
opportunities. If you wonder why God hasn’t called on you lately to do His
work, it could be you’ve been too busy to notice your chances when they come
along. God’s interruptions are always golden. We need to make time for them.
3. Our faith opens the door for
Jesus to build bridges of healing and salvation. In verses 48 and 50, Luke uses the Greek
word “sozo” for “healing.” That word literally means “to be saved.” When we put
our faith in Jesus Christ, that faith paves the way for both His healing and
His salvation.
God calls
us as followers of Jesus to walk by faith and not by sight. Our eyes see
certain disaster, but our faith sees that God will make a way. Jesus builds
great bridges as we put our faith in Him.
So, as we face obstacles that seem insurmountable, let’s trust Him. He is
an expert at building bridges over and around and even through every obstacle
we face.
Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of
First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,
visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com and join us for
worship Sundays at 10 a.m.
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