Delay with the Purpose of Glory
Luke 8:51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
Luke 8:52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
Luke 8:53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
Luke 8:54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
Luke 8:55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.
Luke 8:56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Remember Jarius the synagogue ruler that went to get Jesus because his daughter was super sick? That’s where we start today. He has just been told, while on the road with Jesus, that the daughter has died. They were held up by crowds, then a pesky bleeding woman came and slowed down Jesus even more. She got healed and we had to stand around and listen to her testimony and on and on.
It’s probably her fault the daughter died. Stupid lady.
That sounds awful, doesn’t it?
If that seemed out of place, it was. Jesus didn’t talk like that, and He corrected the disciples when they did. Instead of apologizing, Jesus encouraged Jarius the worried dad: “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
I want to encourage like that. Instead of telling people what they are doing wrong, we can direct them to do what’s right. A lot of times people don’t even know what ‘right’ looks like, but we can show them.
Jesus showed them alright. Even when everyone laughed at Him saying that the girl wasn’t dead, Jesus just kept on doing what He was doing. Instead of telling people how to change their thinking or telling people what they should be doing, Jesus did the Father’s will. It’s the will of man to be confident and sure of himself. But it was the will of God for Jesus to be confident in God.
It’s almost like God specializes in delays. He delayed until Abraham was an old old man before Isaac was born. God delayed while Noah built the ark so that he and his family would be saved. God delayed with Moses in the desert for 40 years before freeing the Hebrew slaves and God delayed for three whole days before healing and raising Jesus from the dead.
The next time somebody gets healed ahead of what you want, or things get worse because God is taking too long to answer, don’t correct yourself. Just do what Jesus said to do. Do not fear. Believe in the love and power and mercy and wisdom of God. He’s doing something. His delay is not lazy.
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