“While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.” Luke 8.49-56
Some things are impossible to believe. They seem too good to be true. For example, Christmas morning as a child growing up in a healthy home—coming down the stairs and seeing that present you asked for sitting under the tree.
No one expected this. It was the last thing on their minds. But what is impossible with humans is possible with God. When Jesus got delayed on his way to heal Jairus’s daughter, hope faltered. Even Jairus said, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” In other words: My daughter has died. I had hoped she would live, but all is lost. Jesus doesn’t need to come to my house after all. But Jesus, being God in the flesh, said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
They did not know then what we know now—that Jesus can bring the dead back to life. This is perhaps the greatest miracle. He who gave the bugs breath, the animals animation, and the fish flourishing can surely bring a dead girl back to life. Even when he approached the house and people confirmed she was dead, Jesus was not hindered but determined to do what only God can do.
The real question isn’t whether Jesus can bring the dead to life, but why doesn’t he do it every day? Why doesn’t he heal the stroke victim or the cancer patient? Why is there still so much suffering in this world, day in and day out? I can’t fully explain it, but what I do know is that he can do it. He can heal the body, and when the body dies, he can still save the soul, which lives for eternity.
Jesus is the only answer to the hurt and pain in the world. Even though he may not solve every temporal problem we face, knowing that he can—and has done it before—means that he can and will do it again.
If you need hope today, if grief has stolen your joy, take the words of Christ to heart: “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
“O Lord God, we often ask for healing, and nothing happens physically. But life is more than the body. We have an eternal soul that will last forever. You have made and created us in your image. Your love is better than life. Come now, Holy Spirit; fill me with your power and love. Rest your favor upon all my efforts so that the fruit of your gospel might be made known. I love you, Lord, and praise your name. I know you can do more than we ask or imagine. For you are good, and your love endures forever.” Amen.