This week's Blog is from Laura Scott the Executive Director of Thrive Day School. Thrive Day School is a special education school for preschool through 8th grade students that meets at the Christ Lutheran Church.

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Mark 5:21-43

Have you ever asked God for something that you wanted really badly?  It could be a new car, a house, a promotion at work or for healing in a certain area in your life. Are you at a point in life that you have been praying in faith for something and it feels that God is not hearing your prayer. That it is bouncing off the walls and not reaching all the way up to heaven? Like He has pressed pause on your situation. At the same time someone else receives the very thing that you had been praying for. Sometimes it feels that God is answering some people's prayers while yours is going unheard.

In Mark 5, we see the story of an affluent leader, Jairus whose daughter was extremely sick and in need of a miracle. He begged Jesus to come to his home and lay hands on her so she would be healed. (Isn’t it amazing to see what a father will do for his kids. Our heavenly Father is the same way.) Jairus is a man of means and influence that could easily find and afford a doctor to help his daughter. Like any other father, Jairus must have explored every avenue possible for help only to land in desperation at the feet of Jesus.

Just like Jairus, so many times in my life that is exactly where I have found myself. Desperate at the feet of Jesus, praying and hoping for a miracle. It does not matter how wise we get, how rich we are or our position at work, one small thing can have us on our knees asking God to move on our behalf.

Sometimes the things that God uses to draw us closer to Him, are not the things that we would choose for our lives. Jairus did not want to go through this, but God knew that this would bring him closer and change his life forever.

God does not tell us how long it will last, that is why we must stay close. God is not like Doordash, He does not show you how much longer until His provision reaches your door. We tend to let the expectation of the how, when, and who become the forefront in our midst, instead of letting Him guide us through the journey.

When you are waiting on a miracle you can stay close or get carried away. When you are desperate, the number one tool the enemy will use is getting your focus off Jesus. Jesus is still with you. It is interesting to note that Jairus was not following Jesus, Jesus went with Jairus. God is walking with us even in the waiting season. The easy thing that Jairus could have done was to drift away from Jesus and fall back into the crowd. But there was something about Jairus that made him push through the crowd to stay close to Jesus. He had to stay close to Jesus in order to receive his miracle.

How do we stay close to Jesus when our minds are filled with fear and anxiety? When are we overwhelmed? We know what we need to do, but do we really do it? Do we push through the cloud of doubt to stay close to Jesus and receive our miracle?

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What does God want us to do while waiting for our miracle?

1.Sit at His Feet:  God wants us to come to Him with every need that we have. Be specific in our requests to Him. Most times we shoot a prayer up into the clouds hoping for a turn of events. God desires a deeper relationship with us than just a spiritual genie. He wants for us to come to Him with the deep desires of our hearts. That requires us to sit at His feet and specifically share our requests.

2.Reach Out: When we are waiting on God to work on our behalf, we need others that can build us up. Other people’s answered prayers and strong faith in life can help see the hand of God, even when we are doubting. Who you allow in your life will make or break your faith. You need people in your life, but they need to be the right people. They need to be people of faith that have been through this before and have come out on the other side. Well-meaning people that are not in your situation can deplete you. You need people that will encourage you. Jairus had to tell himself, if Jesus did it for her, He can do it for me.

3.Obey the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit will place things on our hearts that require small steps of obedience. If we honor God by taking those small steps, He will give us the courage for even larger acts of obedience. God does not give us a timeline, because He is doing something bigger. Jesus was not messing with Jairus when He stopped. He was doing something much bigger. God is more concerned about our hearts than our situation. God can do anything, but He is doing something bigger in your life. He is saying “Don’t be afraid, just believe” and stay close. When we get into a situation we can choose to focus on the fear, or we can choose to focus on the one who is with us. Fear will cause you to flee. Faith will cause you to stand.

Jesus told Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Why didn’t Jesus say, “Don’t worry, I am going to heal your daughter, too.”? Because He was doing a work in Jairus’ heart. Jairus received more than what he requested. He asked for healing, but what he got was a resurrection as well as the confidence of knowing he can wait on God and trust Him to deliver. In the waiting, we get to experience the grace God has generously given us for this moment. We will see the tangible presence of Godin our situation for the season. We must stay close to be in His presence.

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Isaiah 40:28-31

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not grow faint.

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