Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

“One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live” (Mark 5:22-23).

We get desperate when we feel that our time is running out. In serious situations, we start looking for help anywhere we can find it. In Mark chapter 5, Jesus is walking through a crowd of people when a synagogue leader, Jairus, sees Him. Jairus is at his breaking point. He’s frantic because his little girl is dying, but then he sees Jesus.

We know that Jairus is a leader in the synagogue, which means that he has a high reputation and is most likely acquainted with the Pharisees who despise Jesus. But Jairus is desperate. Even he, a leader of the synagogue, runs to Jesus because the religious place where he works can’t help him. Jairus interrupts Jesus because he’s clinging to the hope that maybe He could heal his daughter.

How many times have we been this desperate that we would put our pride down and run to Jesus? Jairus is a public figure—he’s a highly esteemed leader of the synagogue, where all religious meetings and worship takes place, but there’s no hope in that building. He needs a living, active hope. Jesus walks into town, and suddenly job titles get pushed aside because Jairus is running out of time and needs a miracle.

When we’re desperate to see change, that’s when we’re most likely to put our pride down. Too often, we get caught up in our achievements, but when push comes to shove, we find ourselves at the end of the rope with nowhere else to run except to Jesus. We don’t want to experience these heart-wrenching, anxious moments where all we can do is cry to God for help, but it’s in these moments that the Lord teaches us the magnitude of our faith.

Most of us either have faced or will face desperate moments. The question is will we rely on our own abilities and strength or will we run in faith to Jesus?