I’m so thankful for the gift of social media. I can log in anytime and be connected to other women like me—moms of teenagers with autism, pastor’s wives, super fans of Loki … the opportunities are endless. But of course, there’s also a downside. I scroll through first day of school pictures and feel connected to all these other moms sending their kids off on the bus, but I can also feel jealous. Jealous that their lives seem easier than mine, jealous that their circumstances look better, jealous that God seems to have answered prayers for them that He still hasn’t answered for me.
I become jealous of them and angry at God, who I imagine is withholding good things from me and passing them out to others instead. Maybe you can relate?
Social media can trick me into thinking God is answering everyone’s prayers but my own, but the story of Jairus’s daughter from Mark 5 shows me how to have faith even as I wait.
21 When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea. 22 One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.
“Jesus went with him,” we read and know something good is going to happen for Jairus and his daughter. But on the way, they are stopped.
25 Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30 Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But he was looking around to see who had done this. 33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you.Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”
I wonder what Jairus was thinking as he watched this woman get her miracle. Sure she had waited and suffered for twelve years, but she should have waited a little longer for her turn. Jesus was supposed to be helping Jairus, not just anyone who stopped Him on the way. I wouldn’t have been happy waiting. And I’m sure Jairus’s impatience and jealousy turned to anger when he heard news from his house:
While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?” (v. 35).
That might have been the end of my walk with Jesus if I had been in Jairus’s shoes. Well, He used up His healing power on this woman. Probably doesn’t have any left for my daughter. If only we had walked faster or taken another path and not run into her! But that isn’t the end of the story for Jairus.
36 When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John,James’s brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.
Here’s what we can learn from this encounter with Jesus:
We can trust God’s timing. I can grow impatient as I wait for God to act. But He doesn’t operate on my time table because He sees a bigger picture than I do. Interruptions and distractions are still part of His plan!
We can trust God’s provision. God doesn’t run out of the ability to answer our prayers or meet our needs. He is a God of abundance! No one is getting my portion. No one is cutting in line. He will provide for all His children.
We can trust God’s plan. God isn’t held back by limitations that hold me back. His plan overcomes all obstacles. Not even death can stop it! In fact, sometimes death is the plan because that is when all of us will be fully and completely healed. Whatever He has ordained is for my good and my family’s good.
It’s hard to see others get what we’ve been praying for. But we can trust in God’s timing, provision, and plan to meet our needs too. And like Jairus, we can be amazed at the answers God has planned just for us!
Sandra Peoples (M Div) is a special-needs mom and sibling. She and her family live outside of Houston, TX where she serves her church as the Inclusion Coordinator for Special Needs Families. She also serves the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention as their Special Needs Ministry Consultant. She’s the author of Unexpected Blessings: The Joys and Possibilities of Life in a Special-Needs Family and the host of the podcast, Self Care and Soul Care for the Caregiver. You can connect with her at sandrapeoples.com.
