It’s Friday…Tune Them Out!

Life is full of distractions. Jesus Christ Himself was familiar with them but was never derailed by them. He was once summoned by a father who believed his daughter to be dead and wanted Jesus to come and perform a miracle (Mark 5:21-43). Jesus was intrigued by the request and so He made His way to see the girl.

The first order of business for Jesus, once He arrives on the scene was to tell the crowd the truth about the situation – that the little girl was not dead but asleep. He did this to get rid of the naysayers. He then “put them all out” (v.40), allowing only the people who were desperate – basically her parents – and the people who were faithful – His disciples – to witness the miracle.

Miracles must be done in the presence of desperation and faith, when the need for God and trust in Him can take center stage. Wailing? It distracts. Wailing? It acknowledges neither God’s power nor His goodwill.

Once the wailers are gone, Jesus can do His work. And His miracle is astonishing in its simplicity. Like a father waking his child for breakfast, Jesus gently speaks:

“Talitha koum.” (Mark 5:41))

His words of the Aramaic equivalent of: “It’s time to get up, little one.” Where the wailers proclaimed death, Jesus speaks life. Where they grieved loudly, He quietly takes her hand and tells her it’s time to wake up. Where they laughed with contempt, He celebrates with joy. They were ready for her funeral; He told them to feed her breakfast.

Yes, we face a lot of distractions in life. We hear the negative reports of those who think every situation is a hopeless one. With Jesus, no situation is hopeless. Even apparent disasters are entirely redeemable for the Sovereign God who responds to faith.

And where we encounter “impossible” situations, we are frequently fed complex, impotent approaches to them. Let us instead allow Jesus to walk into our situation and speak a soothing, simple word. Let’s invite Him into the distresses of our lives and gently take our hand.

Is there discouragement? Depression? Hopelessness? Dread? The ravages of death itself? No matter. Let’s allow Him to come in and take our hand, and whisper the encouraging, life-giving words only a loving parents can whisper: “It’s time to get up, little one.” 

Let the wailers wallow in disaster, if they must. We need to Tune Them Out and solely listen to the gentle voice of our God.

Have a distract-less weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who know His gentle voice and hear it clearly especially when the commotion in life gets loud.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)