There is a kind of busy man, whose busyness makes him almost unapproachable. He uses his busyness as a way of keeping people at a distance. Then there is the man who isn’t doing anything in particular but his mind is always racing. Such a man finds it hard to be “in the moment”.
You’re talking to them and they’re looking straight at you, but their mind is a million miles away.
Then there is Jesus.
Jesus led a busy life. But as busy as He was, people still felt that they could call upon Him. Still felt they could draw near to Him.
And when He stopped and turned to them, He gave them His absolute, full attention.
Jesus wasn’t just busy. He was fruitful. His busyness was productive and life-giving to the one standing—or lying prostrate—right in front of Him.
Has it ever occurred to you that when you get down on your hands and knees and pray, you have His full undivided attention?
The miracles of Mark chapters four and five remind us that with each cry for help, Jesus shows that He is reachable, touchable and dependable in a way that strengthens a disciple’s resolve to keep following Him.
It was after one such busy day that Jesus got into a boat and took a nap only to be woken by the terrified faces of fearful sheep drenched to the bone by stormy waves at sea (Mark 4:35).
So much for the nap. Jesus calms the storm.
Immediately upon the shore in Gaderene (Mark 5:1), Jesus finds Himself confronted by a demoniac whom He sets free from bondage to Satan and, in the process, reduces primary industry in that part of the world by about 2,000 pigs.
Having made it safely through water, freed a man enslaved and drowned an army, Jesus gets back into the boat and heads to Galilee where He is promptly swamped by a sea of people all pressing in on Him (Mark 5:21).
Jairus, a Synagogue ruler falls at His feet publicly begging Jesus to heal his 12 year-old daughter. Jesus agrees and along the way, a “daughter of Israel” (Mark 5:34), hidden in the crowd and seeking rest from her own incurable condition, touches Jesus believing for a miracle, which she receives.
Jairus, who is no doubt going out of his mind with the delay, is then told that his daughter is dead. Jesus, with the tenderness that only He has, tells Jairus not to be afraid but to keep believing.
When Jesus arrives at the house he takes the little girl’s lifeless hand and brings her back to life.
Jesus was busy. He was busy calling anyone He met to have persistent faith. Not faith in our prayers, not faith in our persistence, but faith in Jesus. He was calling people to have the kind of faith that would prevent us from being swamped, sunk, and overwhelmed by the fact that we are powerless.
The demoniac can’t be contained, the disciples can’t combat the waves and the doctors can’t heal. But Jesus can. Jesus can calm the sea because He made it roar.
The circumstances of our lives are often out of our hands. The good news is that they are in Higher Hands. Good Hands. Hands that are busy restoring, comforting and delivering.
What are you busy with right now? Is there a friend to visit, a relative to comfort, a prayer to be said or a soul to be saved. How connected are you to the people around you and how heavily are you resting in Higher Hands to get you through?
Leave a Reply