July 2

The Child of Jairus

While He was still speaking, messengers from the house of Jairus arrived and said, “Your daughter is dead; why bother the Teacher anymore?” — Mark 5:35 BSB

It seemed like Jesus had waited too long on the way. To us, it might seem like He shouldn’t have stopped at all to talk or heal the woman. Jairus’ daughter was dying, and there wasn’t a moment to lose. Why didn’t the Master hurry and reach her before she died? But when we read the whole story, we’re glad He did stop to help the woman. One thing we learn is that Jesus is never in a hurry. He’s never so caught up in one need that He can’t stop to attend to another. He’s never so pressed for time that we have to wait our turn. No matter what He’s doing, He will always hear our cry right away.

A little girl once thought that when she prayed, God told all the angels to be quiet, saying, “I hear a noise, a little girl’s noise,” and then all the angels stayed still until she said Amen. While the angels don’t need to be hushed for God to hear, the child’s idea wasn’t far from the truth.

Another thing we learn from this delay is that Jesus never comes too late. It certainly seemed like He had taken too long this time, but when we see the outcome, we know He didn’t make a mistake. True, the child died while He lingered, but this gave Him the opportunity for a greater miracle. He waited so He could do something more amazing. There’s always a reason when Christ delays in answering our prayers. He waits so He can do more for us in the end—often beyond what we could even ask or imagine. So we learn to trust the Lord’s timing in answering our prayers. He knows best when to respond and what to give.