IMMEDIATELY

*It might be helpful to first read Mark 5:21-43 before reading this.

I remember hearing it for the first time in a tiny camp office in Northwest Iowa. My friend (the only one on our staff who had a personal computer) had just gotten a floppy disc in the mail from that company everyone was talking about. They were called “America Online.” He bought a modem at Radio Shack, spent an hour installing it, then another hour installing the software, and we were ready to rock. We were eager to check out the message boards we’d heard so much about, so we entered the first on the long list of phone numbers they gave him to connect.

Busy signal.
We tried again.
Busy signal.

Number after number, busy signal after busy signal, and finally, we heard it. We heard the clunking, screechy, digital sound of the modem connecting and talking over the phoneline to another computer… somewhere.

And about five minutes later, we immediately had access to a world of information and connection we’d never known. It only took us about three hours to get there.

This whole idea seems preposterous to me now.

I have more computing power in my pocket than 100 of those computers back in the camp office. I can find detailed information about almost anything in a matter of seconds. I can talk to people anywhere in the world. I can ask artificial intelligence to accomplish all kinds of tasks, and the results are often accurate and IMMEDIATE!

I have grown accustomed to IMMEDIATELY.
When I want something, I want it now.
I expect results NOW, and my patience wears thin when forced to wait.

Immediately… her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. (Mark 5:29)

It only took her twelve years of bleeding…
Twelve years of doctors…
Twelve years of suffering…
Twelve years of likely being excluded by family, friends, and society…
Twelve years until she touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, and IMMEDIATELY, things were different. The bleeding stopped. Healing happened.

And Jesus noticed what happened, IMMEDIATELY. (Mark 5:30)

When Jesus asks, “Who touched me?” She falls at his feet, afraid and trembling, afraid she’s done something wrong. Because everything about her was “wrong” according to everyone around her. But Jesus gets down on her level amid the chaos and noise of everyone pressing in on him. Jesus looks her in the eye (something I wonder if she had experienced in twelve years) and says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34)

She enters the scene shameful and alone. She leaves with dignity and healing, all while her neighbors witness. And that moment marked the beginning of her long, slow, steady restoration… one I imagine took the rest of her life and is now fully realized with God in eternity.

That’s a different version of IMMEDIATELY than I’ve grown accustomed to.

Meanwhile, Jairus was still waiting.

At the beginning of this story, Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Jesus to heal his daughter, who was dying. I can imagine him thinking,

“It’s fine that you healed the bleeding woman, Jesus. But she’s been bleeding for twelve years. Couldn’t she wait a little longer? My daughter is dying NOW! Plus, she jumped ahead in line. I asked first! Shouldn’t that count for something?”

Then, in the waiting, Jairus’ daughter died before Jesus could get there.

How often have I said, “If only this happened sooner…If only I’d paid attention to this before it got bad… If only…”

But Jesus says to Jairus and the rest.

“Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

It is ok to be afraid. Fear is a natural response to the unknown. Fear is a natural and necessary response when there is a threat. The more significant point to what Jesus says to Jairus is “ONLY BELIEVE.” In other words,

“Have confidence in me… entrust even this to me.”

That’s what faith is.

Then, despite the waiting…
Despite the mocking of the crowd…
Despite everything, Jesus says, “Talitha cum… little girl, get up.” and,

Immediately… the girl got up and began to walk about (Mark 5:41)

Jairus enters the scene, desperate and afraid.
His daughter enters the scene, sick and dying.

I don’t know the rest of their story except that the girl was hungry since Jesus instructed them to give her something to eat. But I imagine they spent the rest of their lives living into this new reality that she was once dead and is now alive.

I imagine they had as many questions as they did answers.
I imagine even after this miraculous resurrection, they still had moments of fear, failure, doubt, and more.

That’s a different version of IMMEDIATELY than I’ve grown accustomed to.

It seems that following Jesus includes the invitation AND challenge to entrust even my waiting to God. The immediacy of God is not always evident in the results, as anyone who has prayed for healing (and things didn’t turn out as they hoped) can attest. Instead, the IMMEDIACY of God is God’s presence with us. God is immediately and always with us, and the invitation is to trust God when the outcome is positive AND when and while everything is falling apart.

Then, in whatever way God reveals God’s healing, the call is to BELIEVE. The call is to participate with God in God’s restorative work. God’s work is rarely instant, but God’s presence is ALWAYS IMMEDIATE. And wherever God is present, so is the fullness of everything I need to navigate whatever challenge, hardship, or difficulty I encounter.

I want everything NOW.
I want a quick and easy resolution, even to the most complex problems.
But it seems that our IMMEDIATELY PRESENT GOD is more slow and steady…A reliable, trustworthy, and eternal presence with us no matter what comes our way.

Maybe faith is the journey of learning to trust that this is good… even better than my wants being satisfied instantly.

Life can be long.
It can be hard.
And God is here for it all.

I want to learn to live, as Eugene Peterson so wisely said, in “A long, slow obedience in the same direction.”