“Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing Him, he fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.’ And He went with him. And a great crowd followed Him and thronged about Him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years … She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. … And Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, ‘Who touched My garments?’ … And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ While He was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ … [He] went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand He said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking ….” (Mark 5:22-25, 27, 30, 34-36, 40b-42a)

How could Jairus handle the delay? His daughter is dying, and Jesus has stopped to help a different woman on the road! If it had been me, I probably would have tried to grab Jesus by the sleeve and drag Him along. Who cares about the woman with the bleeding problem!

But that’s just it. Jesus cares about that woman. Jesus cares about the little girl, too. And sometimes, for reasons we can’t understand, He deals with people’s needs out of order. Out of the order we wish He would use, anyway.

It’s hard to trust that God knows what He’s doing, and the right time to do it. But He does. The same God who sent Jesus into the world to become our Savior knew just the right time for that to happen. He knew the right time for you to believe and be baptized. He knows about your current suffering, whatever it may be, and He knows when and how it will end.

But more than that, He loves us. If Jairus’ heart was torn for his little girl, how much more did Jesus feel for her! We imagine that it is easy, even cold-blooded, for God to say to us: “Not now.” “Not yet.” Sometimes, “Not in this world.”

It isn’t easy. The cross of Jesus tells us how much our pain and brokenness matter to God. The resurrection of Jesus tells us that He will come—even at the last minute, even after the last minute—to save us, and to set things right. We hope in Him, because we know His heart. It is the heart of Jesus, who can care both for a dying child and a frightened, bleeding woman. And for us.

THE PRAYER: Lord, help me to wait for Your will, even when it’s hard. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reprinted with permission from Lutheran Hour Ministry

Reflection Questions:
1. In your daily life, do you find it easy or hard to wait?
2. When have you had a hard time waiting for God’s will?
3. When have you seen God do wonderful things, though it took a long, long time to happen?