By
Allen White
While he was saying this, a synagogue leader
came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and
put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and
so did his disciples.
Just then a woman who had been subject to
bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.
She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus
turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed
you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
When
Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people
playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they
laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the
girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region.
Matthew 9:18-26
On His way to a house filled with
doubt, Jesus encountered a woman full of faith. The people in the house had
accepted the inevitable – the child had died. The noisy crowd was already
memorializing her life. But, her father, a synagogue leader, knowing she was
dead believed that there was more.
En route to the house, Jesus felt
someone touch him. Her chronic health problem drove her to Jesus. Seeing Jesus,
she took the opportunity by letting Jesus intersect with her need. She had
faith and was healed.
At the father’s prompting, Jesus
arrived at the house. He announced that the girl was only “asleep.” The mourners
laughed at Him. They laughed in Jesus’ face.
Simply taking the girl by the hand,
Jesus brought her back to life. The key to this miracle is one small phrase,
“after the crowd had been put outside.” The crowd lacked faith. The crowd
accepted things as they were. The crowd laughed at the hope Jesus offered. The
crowd had to go.
Most of us don’t celebrate the newfound
problems in our lives. In fact, most of us are prone to mourn our loss. Whether
we’re facing inconvenience or impossibility, we usually don’t embrace the
problem with open arms. We’d rather duck than pucker up.
But, who is this a problem for? “Well,
it’s a problem for me.” Of course, it is. But, it’s not a problem for God. God
knows the resolution of this problem. God knows where He wants to take us. We
just don’t know where we’re going, yet.
Why is it a problem? It interrupted our
plans. It’s not what we expected. We thought that we’d be better off than we
are at this point in our lives. Maybe we didn’t see it coming. Maybe we did.
In every problem, we have a choice:
faith or mourning. We can cling to what might have been – coulda, shoulda, woulda
– or we can trust God for what’s next. Now, don’t get the idea that my life is
problem-free and that I am averse to mourning. There is no such thing as
problem-free, and I’m preaching to the preacher here.
Once we decide to follow God in faith
believing, we need to look at our crowd. What are they saying? Are they
building us up or tearing us down?
Who is the crowd? The crowd represents whatever
inputs we are allowing in our lives. Are their messages positive or negative?
Are they inspiring hope or mourning?
Some of us need to distance ourselves
from negative friends or family. Others need to turn off cable (bad) news. Get
the facts, and then allow God to provide the commentary. Are we reading things
that bring hope? What are we telling ourselves?
The truth about us is not necessarily
our track record. God says that we are forgiven and redeemed (Titus
2:14). God says that we have a hope and a future (Jeremiah
29:11). God says that we have a mission to fulfill (Matthew
28:18-20).
If you find yourself a little hope-less
today, then surround yourself with thoughts and people who are hope-full. This
isn’t wishful thinking. This is truthful thinking.
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