Mark 5:22-29
And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Isn’t it often our desperation that drives us to Jesus in the first place? Both Jairus and this woman were desperate for help. Jairus couldn’t fathom the thought of losing his daughter. More than anything, he probably wanted her to be whole and restored and well again. The woman also knew something of desperation. For so long she had suffered and faced the discouragement of a chronic and worsening condition. Perhaps it was difficult to keep going day by day as it affected every part of her life. But now here was Jesus—living, walking, talking Hope Himself. Knowing there was someone who could actually make a difference perhaps gave her the courage to approach near to Him in that crowd of people.

And she wasn’t disappointed. She went home whole that day for the first time in years. Truly she could rejoice in what God had done for her. And perhaps if she had been well, didn’t have that struggle or that need, she wouldn’t have ever gone to Jesus and experienced the life-changing difference He can make. For Jairus, his daughter was restored to life and restored to him. But Jairus gained new life, too, as he made that decision to trust Christ as his only answer.

Perhaps we, like these recorded in Scripture, find ourselves in a desperate situation. Perhaps it is a matter of life and death. Perhaps it is a matter of some physical ailment. Perhaps it is a different kind of situation that is no less important in our lives. Does it drive us to Jesus? Will we seek Him out in our hopeless state and ask for His help? He may not work exactly as we want Him to. What He does may not be what we expect to happen. But surely we can trust Him to do what is best for us in our situation if we’ll just go to Him in faith.