Let me share with you a true story. Once upon a time, there was a 12 year old girl who was very sick in a land faraway. Her father, named Jairus, had given her different medicines and herbs but nothing seemed to work. He had also called in the village doctors but they were of no help too. They could not provide an accurate diagnosis, so sadly, the girl was getting worse by the day. Then, he heard news going around town about a certain doctor who could cure the most extreme sicknesses. People said this doctor was unlike any other healer. He was not a medically trained professional but He was able to open the eyes of a totally blind man which was unheard of.
Jairus was desparate. He hurriedly took off and looked for this man named Jesus in Galilee, even on a Sabbath (which was their rest day). He saw a great crowd gathered across the lake. He rowed and pushed his way through and saw a man, filled with kindness and compassion, in the middle trying to heal a paralyzed man.
“Jesus, Jesus!” Jairus called out to the healer. “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
Despite other people vying for the same attention, Jesus agreed. Jesus’ friends, who were his disciples, sensed the urgency of the matter and ran towards the synagogue leader’s house. Jesus, however, did not run and keep up. There were just so many people that needed healing — one of which was an old lady who experienced years of bleeding. The old lady simply touched Jesus’ clothes and she was healed instantly.
You may be wondering what happened to the little girl. Jesus was not able to arrive on time, and the little girl passed away.
I’m sure a lot of us can understand what the father must have felt. How disappointing it was for him that the greatest Healer was not able to heal his child. Like Jairus, we expect that this great Healer should already be doing something by now, with this pandemic situation. Where is Jesus when we need him? He seems to be late.
The neighbors of the little girl cried out to Jairus, “You’re too late. What’s the point of bringing Jesus here? The little girl is dead.”
But guess what Jesus said when he overheard them.
“Do not be afraid. Just believe.”
And you know what happened next? He went up to the little girl’s room together with three of his friends (Peter, James and John).
Jesus took the little girl’s hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately, life returned to the little girl, she got up and walked around.
From this story, I realized that Jesus can seem late for normal people, but in reality, He is not really late at all. He still gets the job done. Now, why was He not in a rush to arrive before the girl died or “slept”? Why does He allow us to experience moments of extreme stress and hopelessness before He finally intervenes? Perhaps…
The more hopeless the situation is, the greater His glory will be. To raise someone from the dead is way more difficult than to heal the sick, isn’t it? As Angus Buchan (from Faith Like Potatoes) said, “The condition for a miracle is difficulty, however the condition for a great miracle is impossibility.”
Perhaps, He seems late (though we know His timing is always perfect) because of His compassion. There were other people that needed healing along the way.
Perhaps, God is willing to delay something good because of His patience. God might be allowing us more time in this situation of helplessness to cause us to anchor ourselves in the certain hope He alone can provide. The Bible says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
Another thing that I got from the story is that His assessment of the situation is often different from our own understanding of it. This makes His timing much less hurried than that of our frantic hearts. For Jesus, there was no need to hurry, to worry, and to wail, as the girl was just “sleeping”.
There are so much that we do not understand about the current COVID-19 situation — why the death toll continues to rise, why the mutations are becoming endless, and why God does not seem to intervene. This is the perfect opportunity to hold onto these words as we wait for him to come and heal our COVID-19 infested land: “Do not be afraid. Just believe.”
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Believe that His that wisdom is better, and is beyond our understanding.
Believe that His plan is good, and pleasing, and perfect. Believe also that a big part of His plan cannot be seen with the naked eye. For example, He has prepared a beautiful place where we can frolick freely (after our short life here), because this world is not our home. (Note: All plans cannot be seen until they actually come to pass. But some plans a.k.a. prophesies were revealed in the past and have already been implemented by God to a T.)
Believe that His power is more intense and magnanimous than all the COVID-19 mutations and all the influential politicians combined.
Believe that His timing is never late.
Believe that His character is faithful — He always keeps His word. When He says, He will never leave us nor forsake us, He means, wherever we go in this world (whether we be in the deepest trenches in the sea, or at the highest mountain peak, in the bedroom, or in the hospital bed), we can never escape Him.
Believe that His actions are done in love. He does not want anyone in this world to perish to the point that Jesus Himself had to perish for our sake.
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