The Main Idea
Life is full of waiting. We all experience seasons where we feel like we’re stuck in the waiting room of life hoping for an answer, longing for a breakthrough, praying for God to act. And sometimes, it feels like He’s taking too long.
What if God’s timing is actually better than ours? What if Jesus isn’t in a hurry because He sees what we can’t?
In Mark 5, we see two desperate people: Jairus, a father fighting for his daughter’s life, and a woman suffering for 12 years…both waiting on Jesus. And in the waiting, they encounter something even greater than the answers they were looking for.
What if, in the waiting, Jesus is doing something bigger than you realize?
Scriptures
Mark 5:21-43
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing[c] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Questions for Discussion
- (Icebreaker) Have you ever had to wait for something really important? Maybe a job, a relationship, or an answer
- Jairus and the bleeding woman both approached Jesus with desperate faith. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt desperate for God to act? How did you respond?
- Jesus delayed in healing Jairus’ daughter, and in that waiting, it looked like all hope was lost. Have you ever felt like God’s timing was “too late”? How do you wrestle with trusting Him when the answer doesn’t come how or when you expect?
- Tim Keller once said, “If we knew what God knows, we would ask for exactly what He gives.” How does this challenge your perspective on unanswered prayers?
- What is something in your life right now that you are waiting on God for? How can this group support you in trusting His timing?
Moving Forward
God’s delays are not His denials. Waiting is never easy, but what if your waiting season is not wasted? What if Jesus is doing something bigger than you can see?
This week, instead of fighting the waiting, choose to trust Him in it. Write down Isaiah 40:31 or Romans 8:28 somewhere visible and remind yourself: God is at work, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
