"Bothering" God
Mark 5:21-24, 35-43
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and 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." 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ... some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
After Jesus had calmed the storm of the Sea of Galilee and had reached the other side with His disciples, a crowd gathered around Him. His notoriety was growing. People had heard about the miraculous things that He was doing. One of the people who had heard about Jesus was a synagogue rule named Jairus. Jairus had a serious problem: his young daughter (who was probably his only child) was very ill and near death. Knowing what he did about Jesus, Jairus came to request His assistance. When he arrived at the place where Jesus was and there was a large crowd around Him, Jairus was not dissuaded. He didn’t think for a moment “Don’t bother trying to get to Jesus, the crowd is too big,” With so much on the line, Jarius pressed on and made his way through the crowd to Jesus.
Why bother? Jarius knew that Jesus — and only Jesus — could save his daughter. He didn’t know how or why, but he knew that He could and he believed that He would. In faith Jairus pleaded earnestly with Jesus, “Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” Jarius loved his daughter so he “bothered” to fight through the crowd and “bother” Jesus with his request.
In the Bible there are many examples of people who faced desperate situations and were left without hope in any earthly solution. Faced with the facts that there were no other options, many of these people turned to God and earnestly pleaded to Him for deliverance. Some “bothered” God in repentance, recognizing that they had put their trust in the things that had failed them rather than in God. Some “bothered” God in desperation, calling on Him because they had no hope left. Whatever moved people to “bother” God, the ones that called out to Him in faith were never disappointed.
Do you find yourself unwilling to “bother” God with your concerns? Are you still fighting hard to find solutions to your challenges using your own strength, intellect, and earthly resources? At what point will you stop doubting His love for you and start believing His gracious promises? Be careful, God is willing to bring you to that point if that’s what it takes for you to discover that bringing your needs, concerns, problems, and challenges is no bother to Him at all. And be hopeful, God is gracious to those who, in faith, are bold enough to "bother" Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment