Divine Details

“Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astonished (Mark 5:41-42).

This passage in Mark chapter 5 is one of the most detailed accounts of Jesus healing someone. It plays with the idea of time, but not only in the race against the clock to heal the little girl and the woman who was growing weaker by the day due to her affliction.

The Word tells us that the little girl was 12 years old. Remember, the woman had been suffering from her affliction for 12 years. This means that when the little girl was born, the woman began her season of suffering. One girl was born, and another began to die.

The little girl has a worried father who’s looking for a remedy. He’s running to Jesus in a crowd in hopes that He’ll save her. The woman has no one. She has no one fighting for her, but then Jesus calls her “daughter.”

Both daughters find their healing the same day. Time is significant. The same year the girl was born, maybe even the same day, the woman began to lose her life. Twelve years later, they meet Jesus on the same day and receive their healing.

God is an intentional God. He’s in the details that we don’t always see or understand, but that’s why His timing is always better than ours. We read stories like this because even if these two daughters never knew that their 12 years were significant, their story helps us see that God’s timing is intentional.

The number 12 is all throughout Scripture. It’s referenced 187 times. God is the greatest mathematician.

This story is about two people running out of time—they’re running against the clock. Think about this: a clock has two hands and 12 numbers.

He’s in the details.

Your season of waiting won’t last forever, but you must keep your faith. When that breakthrough comes, it will come at the exact moment it’s meant to. It will be immediate. Don’t give up your prayer in the middle of the tension—this is your opportunity to reach out in faith and just keep believing that He’ll come through for you.

God doesn’t waste your time—He redeems your time. No faith will be lost on His watch.