Welcome to Day 17 of our 40 Day challenge! Luke 8:40-56

(Catch up with us, with our reading list March, reading list for April,  and Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16)

Today we are reading Luke 8:40-56:

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ 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.

In today’s passage, I see how interruptible Jesus is. He is on the way to heal a sick girl when He feels power going out of Him. This has always been wild to me. What did that feel like? What did the power He just walked around with feel like? When I feel God’s presence on me while praying for people, it can feel like a heavy warm blanket over me, or sometimes an electric current. Is this anything like what Jesus felt, only more?

And then, when He allows Himself to be interrupted, tragedy strikes. He didn’t make it there on time! She died! But He doesn’t waver. This doesn’t phase him. He has such strong faith in what the Father is doing that He knows the plan is still on. I think if I was in that situation, I might have been so discouraged, might have panicked, and thought that my delay hindered God’s work. But Jesus has our Father’s perspective, and He knows that a greater miracle can now be given. It’s so incredibly beautiful to watch Jesus walk with our Father.

This is such a good message for me today. God’s work isn’t hindered when He detours us. He can accomplish more, the more we are able to follow His lead, and allow ourselves to be interruptible along the way. Even when we are on the way to something very important and urgent.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you next time, for Day 18 and Mark 7:1-23

♥ Samantha