Who Has Your Hand?

Yesterday's message was rich.  The pastor spoke from Mark 5, the account of Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead.  In the past, this account has been used to teach about the importance of unwavering faith in the midst of crisis, but yesterday, my eyes were opened to a whole new lesson.  God's timing is not our own.  Jairus was probably raging inside when Jesus stopped to speak to the chronically ill woman who touched his clothes.  Can you imagine?  Your daughter is dying, Jesus has agreed to come see her, but instead of rushing to your home, he stops to have a chat?  I would have been furious, and I'm sure my heart would've looked terribly ugly in that moment.  Yet, Jesus knew that neither illness nor death could stop him from performing miracles.  And amazingly, Jairus believed.  God's timing is never our own.  We may want immediate healing, or maybe we want a new job.  We pray and we pray, yet it seems like God doesn't deliver...at least not when we expect it.  But He asks us to believe, just as he asked Jairus to do so when his daughter died.

Next comes my favorite part.  You know when your read something in the Bible and it leaves goosebumps on your arms?  This did it for me...

Mark 5:38-41
When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.  He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Tailitha koum!"

First of all, I love that Jesus "put them all out," referring to those who laughed at him. Boy, did those people miss out!!  But then, Jesus says, "Talitha Koum";  meaning Little girl, I say to you, get up.  In other words, Jesus grabs the little girl's hand and says, "Honey, Sweetie, time to wake up."  He speaks to her like a father.  Children find comfort in holding their father and mother's hand.  Nothing can touch them when they have their safety net of a hand.  And Jesus held her tiny, lifeless hand (she was only twelve).

Who's hand do we find comfort in?  Who's hand do you grasp for in the darkness?  Who's hand do you fall into in the midst of crisis?  Who's hand do you use to brush away your tears?  His timing is not your own, but He never lets go of your hand, your heart.  One day, He will say to you, "Talitha koum."