Focal Passage: Luke 8:40-50; 54-56
Have you ever heard the saying, “God is never early, He’s never late, He is always on time”? We are time-bound creatures, subservient to calendars and time schedules. God is not. While we serve a God who is “in time,” we serve a God who is “above and beyond time.” He is not on our schedule. He does what He wants, when He wants, and He does so for His glory and our good.
Our time requires that we can only do one thing at a time. God is not bound by this axiom. He can do two things at the same time. Notice the case of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8. Both were helped by God, not on their timetable but His. Let us schedule it out:
• As always, Jesus was headed somewhere in His ministry. God is always on the move. Jesus’ somewhere was to actually meet Jairus and the woman with a severe hemorrhage. They did not know this, but He did.
Kevin Shrum
• Jairus is desperate. His daughter is ill and dying. He thinks his time is NOW.
• He pleads with Jesus to come now, or his daughter will die. Jairus thinks his time is NOW.
• The crowds begin to push in on Jesus. They think their time is NOW as well. They want to hear a novel word, have Jesus perform a miracle of some sort, or do a magic trick, if you will.
• The woman with the hemorrhage thinks her time is NOW as well. She had spent her last penny to get well (v. 43). She was financially and spiritually destitute.
• Her only hope was a “touch of faith.” She reasoned within herself, “if only I can touch Him I will get well.”
• AND IT HAPPENED! She touched Jesus and she was made well. Her time had come!
• Jesus asked His disciples, “Who touched me?” Sensing that healing power had gone out from His body, he perused the crowd to find the one person in the multitude who had faith.
• The disciples were incredulous (v. 45). What do you mean, “Who touched me?” That would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The disciples thought Jesus (God) had NO TIME. Their thinking was shortsighted. They were on a mission. They had NO TIME for such interferences in their pre-planned mission. Many people think God has NO TIME for them.
• The healed woman came forward, explained herself, and how Jesus healed her. Jesus declared that her physical healing was only a precursor to her spiritual healing (v. 48). She was both healed and saved.
• But what about Jairus? The news was not good. His daughter was now dead. Her TIME WAS LOST, GONE. Jairus’ words are heart-wrenching, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore (v. 49).”
But we serve a God who can take what looks like time lost and redeem it. Jesus responded to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved (v. 50).”
• Jesus arrived at Jairus’ home, comforted the mourning, and raised his daughter from the dead. HER TIME had arrived.
• Jesus was in control the whole time. He was not controlled by the desperation of a father, the destitution of a woman, the demands of the crowd, or the bewilderment of the disciples.
It is a good to have a schedule and a plan. But we must always remember that we serve a God who is not subservient to our plans. He is always on time. As Proverbs 16:9 notes, “The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Yes, let us plan the good use of our time (Ephesians 5:16), but let us make time for the God who is not bound by time in anticipation of the day when time will be no more (Revelation 10:6). B&R
