As If Your Life Depends On It

Have you ever been in a desperate situation?  How did you feel?  How did you respond?  Who did you turn to?  Whenever we are in those situations we tend to cling onto even the tiniest sliver of hope or the thinnest beam of light. We hold onto that tiny sliver and thin beam as if it's our only way out and as if our very life depends on it.

In the Gospel, the synagogue official humbled himself and let go of his pride and turned to Jesus when his daughter died.  He said to Jesus, "My daughter has just died, but come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."  What faith!  And, for a Jewish official, too!  This man risked the ridicule of his fellow brothers and perhaps even his status and standing with the faith.  Yet, at that moment, Jesus, he recognized, was the only solution, the only person who could help him in this desperate situation.  This man believed that Jesus had the power to raise his daughter from the dead.  This man clung onto Jesus, knowing his daughter's life and his family's life depended on Him.  And so, he risked everything and went to Jesus.

Who do we turn to when we have fallen into a bottomless pit or when we find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless situation?  It seems, at least to me, it is human instinct to run away from it and to avoid it by ignoring it and trying to do things to escape it.  We try to find comfort in objects, fantasies, and even other people.  But we soon find ourselves back at square one, face to face with that desperate situation.  At that point, hopefully we will realize and have the humility to accept that only Jesus can help us.  It is not what Jesus can do, wants to do, and will do for us that is the solution.  But, rather Jesus Himself is the very solution, the only solution.  I pray the next time I find myself in a desperate situation, I can find the courage to not run away or turn to other things or people, but to turn to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  And, I hope you will too.

Lord Jesus, you are the Way, the Truth and the Life.  My very life depends on you.  It is a gift from the Father through You and is sustained by the Holy Spirit.  Please give me a faith that is strong, knowing and believing that You alone are my strength, my life's refuge, and my comfort and consolation.  You are the peace that I so desperately need and desire.  Teach me, Lord to turn to You for You alone are the fulfillment of all my desires.  

The Raising of Jairus' Daughter by Henry Thomson


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