Mark 5

 Key verse: Mark 5:35

Big idea: The Son of God's timing is perfect.

Mark 5 looks like a disaster in timing. Jesus is called by the father of a young girl who is dying. On His way to her, a woman who has been suffering for twelve years with a bleeding disorder that made her suffer physically and be isolated socially. It seems like Jesus' timing is bad for her since she had been suffering so long but it is nothing compared to the timing for the man's daughter. While Jesus is healing the woman, the girl died. Although this probably took place around AD 30, it sure seems like a 2020 series of events. We often talk about divine appointments, where God works the timing out perfectly for a synergistic opportunity. But this seems like a divine delay, where God keeps a woman sick for twelve years so she can be healed at the same moment that a twelve-year-old girl dies. What a meaningless mess that must have seemed like to the people who were living through in real time what we read in seconds. 

But God's timing is always perfect and His priorities are not our priorities. It is clearly no coincidence that the sickness had taken place for as long as the girl had been alive; it was a divine wink to the carefully orchestrated harmony of events. How were God's delays really a blessing? This woman's suffering drug on for a long time, but it put her in a position, both literally and emotionally, where she was ready to turn to Jesus when He came. The family of the little girl experienced heart wrenching fear and grief, but got to experience the unspeakable joy of resurrection. 

In the moment, we may feel like God has delayed things beyond all sense. It may seem like everything is falling in pieces when everything is actually falling into place. God's timing is perfect, although we cannot see all of the components that are involved and so we cannot understand. 

Discussion idea: What is an example in your life where a divine delay has worked out to be perfect timing?

Prayer focus: Ask God to give you the kind of faith that provides patience.