An Act of Belief: Luke 8:40-48 The simple lyrics of Rita Springer’s song “I Have to Believe” are poignant – “I have to believe, He sees my darkness…He knows my pain…He moves mountains…He moves my mountains…He moves your mountains…He is forever faithful and true…(YouTube, 2013). However, is it that simple? Just believing and trusting that God’s redeeming grace through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is for you and me – is it enough? Can I ever be whole again? Let us consider the story in Luke 8:40-48 (NIV).
Jesus is Accessible to All-Even as a Last Resort
Overt Behavior Immediately, we are introduced to a host of characters, most notably Jairus, a temple leader, a prominent individual in the community, in verse 41 and 42a: “Then a man named Jairus, came, and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house, because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” It is important to note that in the verse prior, Jesus had just returned and was welcomed by a crowd, or a multitude, (NKJV) as one translation describes. It must have been a great number of people waiting for his arrival because
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For a very long time, she was in the deepest of pits. Except that, she had faith. Somehow, she found enough courage to attend a divorce support group that brought her face to face with Jesus who had always been with her, waiting in the wings for her to reach out to him to grab hold, to touch him. With the belief that Jesus would pull her up out of that pit and set her on solid ground (Psalm 40:2) her brokenness began to heal. She knew of his redemptive act on the cross, she knew of his healing power. With all hope lost, she clung to Jesus, believing for wholeness restored and found new life, as if to hear Jesus whisper these words, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in
She was seduced at an early age and then fell in love with a preacher, but was overcome by an exciting younger man. She experienced every form of lust and desire as well as loss. Somehow though all the hardship she was able to come out on the other side a more complete woman and ironically did so without any of these
No matter how much he put her through, she kept fighting for her life. I was confused by this because, in my eyes her life was completely over. I did not see how she could ever live a functioning life after all of the things that she went through. I would have thought that this reality would have been a reason for her to give up and choose fiction. Fiction would have been the easy way out of the pain, loses, and suffering that she faces and would continue to face. Then I thought to myself that is what makes humans amazing. Being able to endure the challenges of life and keep going. Originally, I thought she was a fool to keep going then I realized that she was strong. If I was her I would have chosen my reality
Even when she was sick, nearing the end of her journey here on earth, she continued praying for others, mostly their healing in addition to their salvation. She prayed daily, in private, asking God for his hand to touch others hearts and souls. Never once did she ask for anything for herself. While enduring chemotherapy, she came to work as long as she felt she could. My mother did these things out of care and concern for others. These actions were done not for her own reward, but because it was the right thing to
We have all been faced with countless tragedies in our lives such as the loss of a loved one or a divorce, which have tested our personal strengths. Losing your mother takes a lot out of you as a person. While reading the book and realizing how close Strayed and her mother were, Lord only knows how empty she felt inside. Personal strengths are mostly defined as incidents, or knowledge of incidents that surround our day to day lives.With no experience or training, Strayed decided to up and leave her entire way of life only driven by blind will. Strayed stated, “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me” (Strayed 30). She went o...
was no longer alone. She had friends to love her and guide her to the next
able to relate more closely to those whom she assisted in recovery from the tragedies
What Evalina experienced as a mother who lost a child is the very ordinary response; it was her growth after the loss that impressed me. My sisters took much longer to heal and move forward after the deaths of my niece and nephew; however, once they were ready to cope with the loss it came in unintended life-altering moments such as Evalina’s. Finding someone that you feel whole with, such as Evalina did, can truly help heal holes in hearts and give a person a reason to live again. It was beautiful to see this happen for Evalina and just made me reflect upon how happy I was and am for my sisters when they found that reason to live in life again. It is a remarkable thing when someone who has dealt with so much loss, unimaginable loss, can find freedom, happiness, and love
One of her children, Jonathan, died at a young age to due a heart defect. Because of this, she has faced a lot of grief. “If one of us is down, the other helps us up,” Chris explained on how she overcomes some of her challenges. Having close friends and family also helps her combat difficulties. It is also extremely helpful for her to have people still value and remember Jonathan’s life. Chris is also an extremely optimistic person. She says she is positive because of her husband, her daily devotionals, having coffee with her friends, doing things that make her happy, like crafting, and helping others. Chris explained that to get through hard times she follows one thing, “trusting that God has a plan and will help us get through it. It might hurt, but we can get through
...l of her journey, she always tried, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, but she did try to move on. She also learned forgiveness, to others and to herself. Her story is incredibly insightful to the realities of the world. Her problems were none too out of the ordinary; death, infidelity, drugs, scandal- at least one of those is in everyone's life. She admits, “I’d done a lot of dumb and dangerous things in my life…”(Strayed 94). The way she handled certain situations was not the best, but that is what made her life a learning process and more importantly that is the story that has inspired so many lives today.
Jerry Sittser’s book not only brings readers into loss with all its real emotions and pain but it also highlights truths that can be applied to anyone’s life. Sittser’s faith is evident throughout the book and his struggle of finding his faith within his loss and sorrow is encouraging to many. In the end, through his loss, he finds God again and through the writing of his book is now able to offer many insights on the Christian perspectives of sorrow, loss, forgiveness and how mental illness affects families. Sittser inspires readers because they have witnessed that they can too grow and continue living life despite their loss and without forgetting their loss.
As time passed she grew older and wiser. She graduated high school and began working several jobs. Attending college was never a thought in her mind. She married young and moved on with her life. Eventually she became pregnant again, but this time she was ready. By now God had strengthened her life. She believed in him and sought is will. She had been given a second chance. To this day my mother is a strong and charismatic woman, full of God's love and joy for life.
The author of this book, Lee Strobel, struggled for almost two years, sometimes jumping from one issue or topic to another and then back again, investigating the facts of Jesus for himself. He traces his journey from skepticism to faith.
...e time she needed to let go. She, even though she was the narrator, grew as a character too. The story was about how her death affected those who loved her and knew her, and how they grew as people. Although her life was lost, new life also began. New friendships took their places in the world. The story gives off a sense of acceptance and that the living should focus on what is now, not what could’ve been. What is done is done; no one can do anything about that. What is important in life is to hold on and love those who are around us, and to let go of things holding us back. I thought this book portrayed that message well. It kept me entertained and I felt every emotion while reading it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a story that is different and not afraid to think outside the box or someone that needs direction when it comes to dealing with grief.
Through the next couple of days our family went through some of the coping stages. We experienced anger because we did not know the severity of the damage, we were depressed and then we had to come to accept God’s will. Ann was a devout Christian and we found comfort of knowing where she was going to.
Paul tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” (Tim. 6:12). We must not hold on to unbelief. When we give ourselve...