Scripture: Mark 5:21–43
There is a detail in the account of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood that I have been thinking about this week. It adds another dimension to what we discussed last week about finding purpose and preparation in the pause.
Jairus had come to Jesus with an urgent request. His twelve year old daughter was dying, and he desperately needed Jesus to come to his house. Jesus agreed, but the journey was anything but easy.
Mark tells us that a great crowd followed Jesus and pressed against Him. Imagine what that must have felt like for Jairus. Every moment mattered, yet the crowd made progress painfully slow.
Then Jesus stopped.
A woman who had suffered for twelve years approached Jesus from behind and touched His garment. She was immediately healed, but Jesus stopped to find out who had touched Him.
Mark 5:30 tells us that Jesus turned around in the crowd.
Think about that for a moment. Jesus had been walking toward Jairus’s house, but now He was physically turning in the opposite direction.
Imagine what Jairus might have felt. First, the crowd slowed their progress. Then Jesus stopped. And now, the One he desperately needed to move forward was looking in another direction.
Sometimes our experience with God feels much the same. We believe He is moving toward the answer to our prayers, but circumstances slow our progress. Things interrupt the journey, and sometimes it even appears that God is moving in the wrong direction.
But notice something remarkable.
While Jesus was attending to the woman, He never stopped listening to what concerned Jairus.
Mark 5:35 tells us that while Jesus was still speaking, people arrived from Jairus’s house with devastating news. His daughter had died.
Jesus immediately turned His attention to Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
Jesus had turned toward the woman, but He had never forgotten Jairus.
And perhaps there was something greater happening in that pause.
While Jairus was waiting, he witnessed a woman receive healing after twelve years of suffering. Just moments later, when he was asked to keep believing despite the news of his daughter’s death, he had already witnessed the extraordinary power of Jesus.
Could it be that the interruption Jairus wished had never happened became the very testimony he needed to keep believing?
Sometimes what appears to be God turning away from our destination is actually God preparing us for what we will encounter when we arrive.
Jairus began the journey believing Jesus could heal the sick. He finished the journey knowing Jesus could raise the dead.
The circumstances grew worse, but his understanding of Jesus had the opportunity to grow greater.
Perhaps that is what we need to remember today.
God’s faithfulness cannot always be measured by the direction our circumstances appear to be moving. Jesus could turn toward the woman without turning His back on Jairus. He could attend to someone else’s suffering without abandoning Jairus’s need.
And when Jesus finally arrived at the house, He took the little girl by the hand and said, “Talitha koum,” meaning, “Little girl, arise.”
And she did.
The crowd had slowed Him. The woman had interrupted Him. The news had grown worse. But none of it diminished His power or changed His compassion.
The delay changed the circumstances, but it never changed the Savior.
Sometimes there is a greater purpose in the pause. And just because Jesus appears to be moving in another direction does not mean He has turned away from you.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your attention is never limited and Your compassion is never divided. Help us to trust You when progress is slow, when circumstances seem to move in the wrong direction, and when we cannot understand the pause. Open our eyes to what You are doing around us and strengthen our faith through the testimonies of others. Remind us that You never stop listening and that Your power is never diminished by the circumstances we face. Give us the courage to hear Your words, “Do not be afraid; only believe,” and the faith to keep walking with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
