Why?

Read Mark 5:21-43

     In this passage, we find Jesus again surrounded by a crowd, this time after casting out a multitude of demons who called themselves, "Legion," out of a man who had been tormented by them for years. The Lord is approached by a synagogue official by the name of Jairus who falls at His feet and implores Him to come and lay hands on his little girl who is near death. As Jesus makes His way through the crowd to go with Jairus, a woman touches His garment. She is not just a woman, but a woman who had suffered for over a decade with bleeding. She had suffered at the hands of the physicians and spent all her money on them, but rather than being helped she had only gotten worse. She thought to herself, "If only I can just touch His garments, I will be made well," and so she managed to make this brief contact through the throng.

     Jesus felt that power had gone out from Him and stopped, asking, "Who touched me?" Incredulous, His disciples indicated the immense crowd and asked Him what He meant by that, since surely He was being jostled and touched on all sides in such a dense mass of bodies. 

     The woman, knowing that she had been healed, came forward in fear and trembling and fell down before Him, confessing what she had done and what had happened. Jesus looked upon her, calling her "daughter" and telling her to go in peace, that her faith had made her well. In the meantime, some people came from Jairus's household and told him that his daughter had died and they may as well not waste the Teacher's time. Jesus told Jairus not to fear, but only to keep believing.

     When they arrived, a crowd of mourners was wailing outside the house, and Jesus asked them why they were making such a noise when the child was not dead but only asleep. They mocked and ridiculed Him, but He sent everyone away except Jairus, the mother of the child, and three of His disciples. He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said to her, "Talitha coumi," which means, "Little girl, rise up!" and she rose and began to walk around. He told them not to tell what had happened and also to give her something to eat. 

     This passage comes at an oddly ironic moment for my little town. Just a few short days ago, a young lady by the name of Halle Henderson died after suffering from violent complications of the flu. The amazing thing was truly to see an entire town rooting for this beautiful child, coming together in prayer and in faith and asking our Father to heal her. He did, but not in the way many were expecting. Halle has passed from this world and is now quite out of the reach of fear and pain.

     I do not know where Halle's family stands in the aftermath of this battle. I do know that my heart goes out to them, for even though their precious child is in a place where no pain or sorrow can ever touch her again, they are not and I know that the ache of her will fill their hearts until they draw their own final breath. I can only hope that they know my Savior and can be comforted by the assurance that they will see their sweet girl again once their race has been won. I can only pray that they will not grope blindly through the valley of the shadow of death, but that they will fasten themselves securely to the Light that will guide them safely through, trusting Him in the time when all the world seems filled with sorrow and clinging to Him when there is nothing else left to cling to. If you ever read this, Henderson family, know that I pray for you though I do not know you and that our Father is there for you even if you are too benumbed by grief to sense Him. Though there is pain, you can take heart that He, too, has experienced pain, suffering, and death and He is with you through it.

     Beyond that, though, the question that must resound through many homes and hearts right now is this: Why did God not heal Halle? Why did He, as we read in today's passage, restore this woman who bled, this official's daughter who died, and many others and yet not heal Halle? Why did He not answer the prayers?

     Friends, brothers and sisters, even readers who scoff and find all this "God stuff" silly, I have to ask you: Why do you think He did not?

     It is true that Halle will not finish fourth grade, will not swim in the pool this summer, will not have a myriad of experiences that other children her age will have. But does that mean that our God did not answer? I must present some hard facts. First and foremost is the simple and undeniable fact that all parents can vouch for and that is that "No" is a valid answer. Our Father may have simply said, "No, my children. Not this time. I have something greater planned for her and for you." God did not bring Halle out of the hospital for His purposes, and only He knows them fully. Sometimes He gives us glimpses of why, and other times we have to remember those glimpses and trust that this, too, has happened for a reason.

     Another child of God, Steve Saint, was fortunate enough to see how the death of his father, while earth-shattering to him as a young boy, opened the gates to bring the gospel of salvation to an until then unreachable people group. Years later, Steve's faith was strong enough, even, to believe that their deaths were not only allowed by God but planned by Him, so perfect and delicate was the timing of events on that fateful day, a fact Steve did not learn until he was nearing the end of his own parenting journey many decades later. Make no mistake, in the vast and perfect balance of God's economy, Halle's death serves a purpose. I could even speculate about what it may be, though I would like to address another point first.

     That secondary point is this: Perhaps--just maybe--Halle's removal from this world was an act of supreme mercy. How do we know that swimming in the pool or raising a family of her own some day was even a part of her future had she been left here to live it out? What if something worse than death lay ahead of her? I have more than one friend who has been a victim of sexual abuse at a young age, have read more than one story of beautiful little girls torn away from their parents to become the slaves of some sin-twisted sadist, have heard countless fates that are far, far less appealing than death besides these. What if it pleased God to spare this little one some nasty bit of suffering that our enemy had in mind in his efforts to ruin her? If that were ever the case case, she is now fully and completely healed indeed as well as being safely out of reach of the evil one.

     Now, however, I want to come back to the sovereignty of God that we touched on earlier. I have to state openly that I know full well this is easy for me to say since it is not my daughter who died. However, as a mother I can all too easily imagine that she was mine. Loss of a child has haunted my dreams, and greater than the fear of losing a child is the fear that I would dishonor God if I were tested that way. No, I have not lost my child, yet I have cried many tears in pleading that I would still do right by God and by my other children should I ever have to endure that sorrow. I would not wish it on anyone, and I am truly and deeply sorrowful for this family. I am in no way trying to diminish or belittle the pain they feel. It is genuine and deep and grief is no man's friend.

     However, I also know that God is in control, even of this. Why did He not bring Halle out of that hospital and back into the arms of her family? I do not claim to know. Perhaps someday her family will know, even if they do not know this side of eternity. What I do know is that her illness brought a community together in prayer. Her death has brought up many questions. This is a perfect opportunity for the enemy of our souls to point an elegant, accusing finger at God and state, "See! He is not good; He robbed the world of this little ray of sunshine!" He is equally eager, no doubt, to point back at the believers and accuse them of weak faith or of not praying hard enough or of any number of atrocities. Satan is an accuser at heart, but do not forget that he is a liar and the father of lies and therefore is not to be believed.

     Even though God did not bring Halle out of the hospital, He did do something wonderful through her trial. He brought a community to their knees and He has brought much attention to Himself. Now, at the denouement of Halle's story, many questions are raised; many are asking, "Why?"  Good, I say. Ask Him. He will delight to tell you, and He will delight to show you that He is ever and infallibly good. But to know Him we must talk with Him and we must learn that His goodness is shown primarily through obedience. He is gentle, too, and will walk you through it one little step at a time. No matter where you are, God longs for you to come to Him with your doubts, your fear, even your sorrow and fury. He is big enough to handle any and all things you will ask Him. He

     Weep to Him, implore Him, even rail at Him. It is still a part of the first step, which is to acknowledge Him, for to ask Him, "why" you must first believe that He exists. Beloved, He does reward those who earnestly seek Him. So ask--ask away. This is one good that may possibly come of precious Halle's demise. If one person begins a journey that will lead them to the heart of God, I can imagine Him taking her in His arms and saying, "Look! Because of you, this person walks with Me. He was standing on a precipice and was in danger of falling, and because of you, Dear One, he cried out to me. Rejoice with Me as we welcome another brother into My Kingdom!"

     There is another good that may come, if we will let it. Friends, we hit our knees for the life of this child but she is gone. Now is not the time to get up! Let's continue on our knees. Perhaps this, too, is part of the reason. Perhaps God wanted to get the idea in our hearts that we can come together as a community and pray hard, pray fervently, pray together. For Halle's sake and in her honor, let's continue.

     There is much to be healed still. There are many physical maladies, but there is also the more deeply rooted and insidious spiritual illness that wreaks havoc in all our lives. This world is still desperately sick in sin. Many of our churches have grown complacent and careless with the grace we have been given. Holiness is not often pursued so much as it is dressed up and paraded around as a mockery of what it is intended to be. Let's continue in prayer, brothers and sisters! Let's join together still and pray with greater zeal and deeper feeling, drawing nearer and nearer to our God even as we ask Him, "Why?" Let's pray for revival, for conviction, for repentance, for spiritual healing and renewal--let's pray for the ultimate and final healing that can only be had in Jesus.

     Why did Halle have to die? We may never know. But we can know the One who knows her more intimately than any of us and loves her more deeply than any human heart is capable. After all, it was through the death of His Son that we who are not Jewish by blood have a hope of salvation by faith. This One who gave of Himself reckons us to be Abraham's heirs according to the promise when we have faith in Him. He knows and loves us as well as He does Halle. We can know Him, love Him, and begin to trust Him despite -- and sometimes because of -- our "whys." 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die; 

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal; 

a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; 

a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4