Distraction or Accessory

If you have children - of any age - you will recall the times you were knee deep in a project or crisis and your little one was constantly underfoot, asking the infinite number of questions.  Better to the point have you worked with adults who constantly question what you are doing and how you are doing it?  Frequently we encounter distractions that hinder what we are trying to accomplish, sometimes well intentioned, sometimes maliciously intentioned.  In either case, we see an objective in front of us and instead of moving forward in the direction of completion, we are forced to side-step, back up or stop altogether.  How like working for the kingdom of God this is.  

Matthew 9:23-25  When Jesus arrived at the official's home, he noticed the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music. He said, "Get out! The girl isn't dead; she's only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him. When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!  Jarius, the leader of a local synagogue, had come to Jesus beseeching Him to heal His daughter who had just died.  One would think that this leader held the respect of the local people.  Yet when he arrived with Jesus at his home, there was no respect.  There was noise and funeral music playing.  Noise.  The prime distraction in our lives.  Why do you think that Jesus told all the people to get out?  Hadn't Jesus performed miracles in the past in the midst of crowds?  Have you ever thought about that?  

Imagine the atmosphere at that moment.  Clearly there was a crowd in the home because the last verse describes them as such when they were finally outside.  The "noise" that they were making was in Greek defined as: 1) to make a noise or uproar, be turbulent; 2) to disturb, throw into confusion.  Sounds to me as if there were some demonic spirits present in that home.  Turbulence and confusion are tools of the enemy, not of the Lord.  Perhaps He was more interested in saving a young girl's life than providing entertainment for an unruly crowd.  Perhaps their disbelief would have hindered the belief of the parents.  After all, Jesus acknowledged that miracles were hard to come by in His own hometown because of the disbelief and lack of respect due the Son of God.   

A desperate father had come seeking the impossible - perhaps this prophet, this man Jesus about whom everyone was talking could really pull off this miracle.  Anything was worth a try.  He had nothing to lose and everything to gain...or did he?  Imagine his thoughts as he brought Jesus into his home filled with unruly relatives and townspeople.  Clearly they were non-believers because they laughed at Jesus.  This leader is also being laughed at because he is the one that brought Jesus, believing that a miracle would happen.  Would this ridicule continue if Jesus did not raise his daughter from the dead?  What would happen to his position in the synagogue and in the town?  Imagine his wife's state of mind.  Confusion is easy to visualize in the midst of the noise of the crowd.  

Jesus understood everything about the situation including the parents' state of mind.  He desired an atmosphere of faith not disbelief.  Hence the question for us today.  What type of atmosphere do we create in which we are seeking to have the Lord move?   Are we hindering the move of God at times by our "noise"?  Are we part of an unruly crowd that actually keeps the Lord from performing the impossible as happened in His hometown?  Think about the various ways that we could be undermining the move of God.  Multiple scenarios pop into my mind.  Am I talking instead of listening?  Am I voicing my own opinions instead of allowing God access to the situation to speak His heart?  Could it be that I am misinterpreting "signs" and thus communicating distortion to those around me?  The more I ponder this, the easier I see that it is to become a hindrance to God rather than an accessory to His work.

My heart's desire is for God to look at my life and say, "Send her.  She is a willing vessel."  However in order for that to happen, I truly have to be a willing vessel.  My belief in the power of God must supersede the unbelief that surrounds me.  The doubters, the naysayers, the critics abound in our lives.   Do we become part of the "noise" of life, or do we become those that clear out the room so that God can work. What happens in our churches?  Are we part of the group that says, this is not the time nor the place for God to do "that kind" of work, or do we bring Jesus into the house to work His miracles?  The first century Christians fought every kind of persecution that we could imagine.  Life did not suddenly become easy and wonderful because they accepted Christ.  On the contrary, life became very difficult.  Yet they persevered and because they did, we have our faith today. 

It is time, my friends, time for us to step into our responsibilities and our callings as Believers, as followers of The Way.  Sitting on the bench of the team of the Body of Christ will not work in these times.  Our very way of life is being threatened by the ominous shadow of those that would have Christianity wiped out of America and in fact the rest of the world.  Will we be the Jarius's of today and boldly go get our Savior to bring restoration to this world, or will we be the noisy crowd who just laughs with the rest? My choice and yours.  Walk in the power and authority of Jesus Christ and don't look back!