Waiting on God while you're in pain

Ever been in physical, mental or relationship pain? You pray then wait, but what do you do while you wait? Panic? Worry? Take excessive medication? 

Today we meet a lady that had been waiting for relief from her condition for a long, long time.

2 WAYS TO WAIT FOR JESUS SO YOU CAN GIVE GOD GLORY WHEN HELP IS DELAYED

1. PASSIONATELY PURSUE JESUS WHEN YOU NEED HIM

In Luke 8:40-48, we see two cases of passionate pursuit…

A) THE SYNAGOGUE LEADER

 Luke 8:40-42 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.

Jesus is swamped in a crowd of fans and somehow a desperate man worms his way through the crowd and collapses at Jesus’ feet. The crowd recognizes Jairus as a ruler of their synagogue.

Can you imagine how desperate Jairus was?  The religious leaders were opposing Jesus. And now Jairus is publicly siding with him. This may be a humiliating experience, but he is desperate for help. Jesus is his only hope.

Jairus is passionately pursuing a blessing from Jesus. He’s willing to be humiliated. He is willing to be shunned by the other leaders. Why? because his little girl was dying.

Jesus responded immediately. The fact that this man swallowed his pride, placed all his faith in Jesus, and acted on that faith…has secured him a blessing.

This is the type of faith Jesus responds to: Jesus is my only hope. I’m not hedging my bets. I’m all in. I need Jesus and I need him now. Jesus always responds to genuine desperation. “A bent reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not quench.” (Matthew 12:20)

But then we see the second snapshot of this same truth…

B) THE SNEAKY LADY

Jesus agrees to go with Jairus, but something derails the progress. Jesus suddenly stops dead in his tracks, scanning the crowd. What happened?

Luke 8:43-44And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.

Ah-ha! A sneaky lady creeps up on him…. and pick-pockets a miracle!

What’s going on? Why the sneakiness? She had this sensitive condition which left her embarrassed, in physical and emotional distress, and she would certainly be lonely, and craving the fellowship of worshippers. Why? Because according to Leviticus 15:25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, … all the days of the discharge she shall … be unclean.”

Now you understand why she’s in stealth mode. Every person she touched on the way to Jesus was now ceremonially unclean. An unclean person was barred from corporate worship until they went through a ceremonial cleansing which was a major inconvenience.

But this tells us something about her. She hasn’t given up hope. Just like Jairus, she is desperate, has a strong faith, and is acting on that faith. She is passionately pursuing a blessing from Jesus. He is her only hope. She knew she was risking shame, and even being stoned. But she needed Jesus and she needed him now.

Is this the way you pursue Jesus? Do you act on your faith in him? Do you cling to Him in your trials? Like Jairus? Like this lady?

“But,” you may ask, “what about when I do pray, and there’s no answer? Then what?”

The second way to wait for Jesus and give God glory is….

2. PATIENTLY PERSIST IN YOUR FAITH WHEN GOD DELAYS

Sometimes God delays, and it hurts…this lady waited twelve years. That is the same length of time Jairus’ daughter has been alive. This delay brought twelve years of physical effects, social isolation, financial drain and spiritual uncleanness. This was a long, long twelve years, but God had a plan, and the delay was part of that plan.

And you need to know that just because your prayers aren’t answered in your timing, doesn’t mean God is uninvolved.

In God’s perfect timing, he grants this poor woman healing in a remarkable way.

Luke 8:46-47But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.

She wanted private healing, but Jesus makes it public. Why? Because the healing is about God’s glory, not her comfort. And yet Jesus tenderly puts her at ease: “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48). There is a relationship here. She’s a child of God, she’s a believer. The Shepherd knows his sheep. 

Do you see why God didn’t heal her ten years earlier? His plan all along was to connect her with Jesus.

So what are some lessons we learn from the synagogue leader and the sneaky lady?

·        Passionately pursue Jesus for a blessing.

·        Your relationship with Jesus is more important than your comfort or embarrassment.

·        You are not a nameless, faceless patient or statistic. You are a child of God, and he knows you.

·        Trust in Jesus, even when the waiting hurts.

·        Act on your faith.

CONCLUSION

But sometimes one person’s blessing is another person’s trial. The delay this lady caused as a consequence… ”While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” (Luke 8:49)

Sometimes the suffering in life isn’t followed by healing, but by death. And yet, even in death, there’s hope.

Author: Cripplegate