Has God Done Everything He’s Going To Do?
Jarius was an important man. He was likened to a mayor of an important city. Jesus was not popular with the high up officials of His day. Jarius should not have had anything to do with Him. Yet Jarius had a serious problem. His daughter was near death, and he knew Jesus had the power to heal her. Jarius left behind all thought of his career or of what people might have thought of him. His daughter’s life was the most important thing at that moment.
Jarius rushed out to search for Jesus. He knew he must find Him. He did not have the luxury of phoning Jesus or of checking the newspapers or the television to see if it had been announced where Jesus would be that day. Jarius had to search. No doubt he searched frantically.
Finally, he found Jesus. He ran to Him, oblivious to what people around might think of him. Now Jesus had just crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake. So many people had gathered around Him that He was being pushed against the water. Yet somehow, Jarius pushed his way through all these people so he could be the one to speak directly to Jesus. Now he found Jesus. He had been able to stand right in front of Him and had gotten His attention. What we say is so important. After all this, what did Jarius say? “My little daughter is dying. Please come put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live” (Mark 5:23).
Jarius released his faith. He spoke what is not, but what could be as though it was. He said his piece, and Jesus responded exactly as he hoped. Jesus went with him. Suddenly, a woman interrupted all of Jarius’ efforts. A woman with an issue of blood touched Jesus garment, and He felt healing power go out of Him. He stopped to question the woman. This woman explained her life story to Him- how she had been ill for eighteen years, how she had been to doctor after doctor, how she had spent all she had and yet was no better. This must have taken quite some time.
Now Jarius was on a tight time schedule with his daughter’s life hanging in the balance. Did he holler out, “No, leave Jesus alone. He’s coming with me to heal my daughter. Back off, and let us through?” Did he say, “Jesus, You promised to come to my daughter. We have no time for this interruption. We must move quickly to save my daughter’s life. Let’s go! Now!?”
What did Jarius say? Nothing! Nothing??? Yes, nothing! He had released his faith with the words “she will be healed and live.” He was not going to destroy what had been said, but suddenly, people from the house of Jarius arrived to tell him it is too late. His daughter has died so there is nothing else anyone can do now. Jesus knew how Jarius must feel at that moment. Before Jarius could open his mouth and perhaps destroy the faith words that had been spoken, He turned to Jarius and said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Jarius believed in Jesus. He trusted what He said. Even with this news of his daughter’s death, Jarius still kept his eyes trained on Jesus and kept his faith strong. As Jesus arrived at Jarius’ home, He was met by wailing and weeping, a great tumult. Jesus needed faith with Him to have this girl healed. He tried to tell them the girl was only sleeping, but they laughed and jeered at Him. This type of unbelief was not going to help this girl, so Jesus put the unbelievers out. He managed to get away with putting grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and friends out. He took with Him only the ones whose faith He could use. He took with Him the girl’s parents and the disciples who were with Him.
Taking the girl by the hand, He commanded her to get up. She stood up and walked around. He told them to feed her. Because of his faith, Jarius got exactly what he wanted. Because he did not allow himself to lose heart or lose his faith, he was given his heart’s desire. What would have happened if his faith had wavered? “Only it must be in faith that he asked with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). No doubt if Jarius had wavered, he would have lost his daughter. This is not a game.
Have you been standing for something for a long time? Has God shown you something He wants to give you or something He wants you to be doing? Yet nothing seems to be happening? Watch your words! Do not ruin what God is trying to do in your life by faithless words. Trying to see what God is doing behind the scenes is very difficult. Trusting that He is at work even when your physical eyes cannot see any movement is an extremely difficult thing to do, but we must not lose heart if we want to see God’s work manifested in our lives.
God wants to give you the desire of your heart, but sometimes people only see that part of this verse. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). The first verse of this chapter speaks of how evildoers shall be cut down. “Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God). For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb” (Psalm 37:1-2). If you are staying in evil ways, you cannot expect God to give you the desires of your heart. “Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed” (Psalm 37:3). This speaks of trusting in God, of doing good, of feeding on God’s faithfulness, and of delighting yourself in the Lord. THEN He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. If you are out in the world, taking part in whatever evil thing comes your way, living for yourself, not caring whose lives you ruin just so you can have whatever you want, trying your best to be as ungodly as possible, then you can’t honestly expect to receive anything from God. The funny thing is that when life turns sour for people like this, the first thing they do is blame God for the sorry mess they have made of their lives. God does not want you to follow His ways so that He can keep you from having fun. He knows what is best for you, and He knows what will destroy you. “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We cannot always see the whole picture of what is in front of us. We do not have God’s mind. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). God sees the future. He knows where the best place is for you. He has a plan to bring you back into your Garden of Eden. It will be a place where you will be the most successful, the happiest, and the most fulfilled. “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome” (Jeremiah 29:11).
We ofter seem to want to do things our way. We do not want to have to obey God. We go on our merry old ways not worrying about the sin in our lives. The problem is that sin ALWAYS finds you out. Sin is fun for a season, but it always catches up to you. “Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretentious or professions, or by His precepts being set aside). (He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God). For whatever a man sows that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). “But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). This is what sin accomplishes in our lives. “For the wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Some people say that they couldn’t stop themselves from sinning, but that’s not true. “For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), (no matter how it comes or where it leads) has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man (that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear). But God is faithful (to His Word and to His compassionate nature), and He (can be trusted) not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will (always) also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently” (I Corinthians 10:13). God will never let us be tempted above what we are able to handle. If, therefore, we give in to sin, it is because we wanted to be in it, and we cared nothing for the consequences. What will defile and ruin a person? “And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean and renders (him) unhallowed. For from within (that is) out of the hearts of men, come base and wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery. Coveting (a greedy desire to have more wealth), dangerous and destructive wickedness, deceit, unrestrained (indecent) conduct; and evil eye (envy), slander (evil speaking, malicious misrepresentation, abusiveness), pride (the sin of an uplifted heart against God and man), foolishness (folly, lack of sense, recklessness, thoughtlessness). All these evil (purposes and desires) come from within and they make the man unclean and render him unhallowed” (Mark 7:20-23).
Jesus even spoke of those who wanted to stay in their sin. “You are of your father, the devil, and it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires (which are characteristic) of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar (himself) and the father of lies and of all that is false” (John 8:44). Thankfully, “And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping) and you will be saved, (and this applies both to) you and your household as well” (Acts 16:31). “If we (freely) admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins (dismiss our lawlessness) and (continuously) cleanse us from all unrighteousness (everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action)” (I John 1:9).
It was the faith of Jarius that allowed him to see the manifestation in his life of his daughter’s healing. God wants us to use our faith to accomplish much in our lives. He wants us to speak His Word into our lives. He has done what He is going to do. It’s time for us to be the warriors He expects us to be and fight the good fight of faith.
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