Waiting for a Miracle

Have you ever been in a situation so bleak that it seemed as though it would never change? Maybe you had things going wonderfully in your life, and then suddenly you were hit with a severe illness or the loss of a loved one. You didn’t know how you were going to get through it.

That was the scenario facing two very different people in chapter 5 of Mark’s Gospel. One was a man, and the other was a woman. One was relatively famous, and the other was unknown. But they had something in common. They both needed Jesus.

The woman was in a helpless, hopeless situation. She had spent all of her money on doctors but to no avail. She could not get rid of the horrible sickness that plagued her. Mark tells us, “She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse” (verse 26 NLT).

The man, whose name was Jairus, was a leader of the local synagogue. He had power and prestige, but he needed Jesus, too, because his beloved daughter was at death’s door. This young girl had experienced 12 years of relative happiness as the apple of her father’s eye. I think he doted on her and loved her, shown by his urgency in coming to Jesus.

On the other hand, the sick woman had experienced 12 years of pain, rejection, and tears. Yet on the same afternoon, both their lives were dramatically changed by their encounter with Jesus Christ.

This reminds us that everyone needs Jesus. Every man, every woman, every old person, every young person, and every middle-aged person needs Jesus. Whoever you are, He is there for you.