Your Miracle Is On The Way - Praise & Pray (for others) January 23, 2024

I once thought that the only lesson to take away from Jairus's story was that when God takes long to fulfill His promise or a petition, it's because the answer coming will be exceedingly and abundantly more than we could have asked or imagined. While this remains a key takeaway, the Lord kindly provided additional insight to me last year.

Jairus was a synagogue leader whose daughter fell ill and he pleaded with Jesus to come heal her (Luke 8:41-42). Jesus went with Him but a large crowd gathered around Him. The sheer size slowed Jesus down and they likely were unaware that a girl's life hung in the balance waiting for Christ to save her. Some wanted a miracle or hoped to see something great happen. One such person was the woman with the issue of blood. Her miraculous healing forced Jesus to stop and spend time seeking out who'd touched his robe and then speak to the woman in question (Luke 8:43-48).

Luke 8:49 - While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.” Before Jairus could react or speak, however, Jesus reassured him, saying, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (Luke 8:50). When Jesus got to the house, there were mourners there -- all part and parcel of Jewish tradition when people die. These same people laughed dismissively at Jesus when He told them the girl wasn't dead but asleep (Luke 8:52-53). All it took was for Him to take her hand and say, “Child, get up!” and she got up.

​Here are some take aways from Jairus's encounter with Jesus: When we call on Jesus, He starts coming to solve the problems we face. Time will likely pass between the request and His arrival but just as He didn't tell Jairus no, He won't tell us no either. That means, your miracle is on its way once you pray. Like Jairus, we have to patiently wait for the Savior to deal with whatever else He needs to deal with on the way to addressing our issue. Whatever it is will build our faith and bless us. Seeing the woman healed is likely what stopped Jairus from anxiously grabbing Jesus by the arm and shoving everyone out of the way to get to his child.

Remember how someone came from Jairus's house to say his daughter was dead? This was a person he was familiar with and would believe. The devil wanted to use them to deliver a bad report that would deflate the very faith that spurred Jairus to seek Jesus's help in the first place. Also, the mourners waiting at the house were part of that same scheme - meant to cement the fact that the girl was dead so that fear, and not faith, would take over Jairus's heart.

See all the things satan did to challenge Jairus's faith and make him doubt the power Jesus carried? The devil is doing the same to each one of us. Yet, Christ wants us to remember the very same thing He said back then - “Do not be afraid; just believe...” If Jairus had bowed to all the stunts of the enemy, he would have missed out on a miracle that, thousands of years later, continues to edify believers. We have to ignore all the physical signs that tell us the opposite of what God is saying. We have to believe that what is happening in the spiritual world is more powerful than anything in the physical realm.

Glory be to God, that He is the God who can show up 'late' and will still be on time. Death was not a hindrance to His power and so, nothing can stand in the way of God's restorative and transformative power. If you believe in the Lord and ask aright, then your miracle is already on its way. We have to stand firm even when we hear/see that the worst has supposedly happened, having faith and believing that Christ is walking right into that problem to speak His life into it.

To learn more, also read:

1. Take A Jairus Stance