Jairus's story in Mark 5 shows that waiting isn't wasted time — it's where God builds the faith you'll need for what's next. It’s the waiting that forges our faith. 

The Cloud That Wouldn't Lift 

The air was stifling. Beads of sweat formed on my face. Not from the heat of September in South Alabama, but from the realization that I was running out of options. Sitting in the car that day after a phone interview gone wrong, all the losses of the past few months settled on me like a heavy cloud. From my mom’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s to my kids moving out into their own lives — everything about my world changed in the span of two months. I felt like a top spinning out of control. Unable to see or understand God’s plan. 

 

Even though I didn’t see any way he could possibly use me, there was one thing I knew for sure. The call to serve him with my life remained. The desire to honor God with my vocation was the one thing that hadn’t changed. I had so many questions, doubts, and fears. I was powerless to change anything about my situation. I didn’t know it yet, but the waiting itself was the point.

 

Have you been in that place? Suspended between the reality you’ve always known and the unwritten future? On the precipice of what looks like a sheer drop into the unknown? Whatever losses you’ve experienced or pain you’ve endured, sometimes the hardest part to walk through is not knowing what comes next.

 

(If you know what it’s like to wonder and wait, I’ve written more about that here.)

 

A Father’s Desperation

Jairus knew what it meant to walk without having answers. Mark 5 gives us a glimpse into the worst and best day of his life. 

 

Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” (Mark 5:22-23 NLT)

 

Jairus’s daughter lay on her deathbed, clinging to life with a breath. It took all he could do to pull himself away from her side. The precious little one who laughed at his silly jokes and wrapped her tiny hand in his, stretched motionless. But, he’d heard about a man who could heal. As the crowds announced his arrival, Jairus squeezed his daughter’s hand. Then he ran. Pushing his way to the front. 

 

When the Wait Feels Like Forgetting

Like me, Jairus fell on his face begging for Jesus to take notice. Then a hand pulled him to his feet, and Jesus walked with him toward his home. This was the answer he needed. Everything seemed to be working in his favor. But something happened on the way that jolted his faith. Jesus stopped to speak to a woman. Just when Jairus needed him the most, Jesus paused and it seemed like he was forgotten. 

 

I’ve been there too. Things start falling into place and then, in a breath, everything changes again. The job falls through. The diagnosis worse than I expect. In those moments I feel forgotten, unimportant, lost. 

 

Jairus urged Jesus to hurry, but he didn’t. And then the messengers came. While Jesus worked a miracle for someone else, Jairus waited. Time ran out. The child was dead.

 

What do you do when the circumstances tell you there’s nothing left? When the sliver of hope you thought you had disappears?

 

The grief he must have felt. The excruciating pain of loss. When everything tumbles in on itself and you’re left standing empty, devastated. A shell of a human.

 

But then Jesus speaks into your pain. 

 

Where Faith Begins

“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”  (Mark 5:35 NLT)

This is what the waiting is for. 

 

Jesus hadn’t forgotten about Jairus. While he worried and begged for Jesus to do something, to heal his daughter, to come to his aid, Jesus was at work. It was in the waiting that Jesus forged his faith.

 

Later that day, in a quiet room where death hung heavy, Jairus learned what faith meant. He discovered the power of believing the One who holds life and death in his hands. He looked past the hopelessness of his circumstances to see Jesus. Jairus learned how to trust when he didn’t see the way through. 

 

Since that hot day in the car a few years ago, I’ve learned that God is always working. Even when I can’t see it. He constantly reminds me that he’s in control. Everything he does is with purpose and intention. Trust is still hard some days. The waiting seems to last forever. But I’ve stopped believing the wait means I’ve been forgotten.

How has Jesus forged trust in your own life? I’d love to know what God is building in you during your current wait. Comment below. I read every one.

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