"Will you quite bothering me; you are bugging me!"
We don't like pests. You know some. I know some. Pests are people who just will not quite bugging us or bothering us. They nag, nag, nag us about the same thing over and over again.
Holy Pest
I want to suggest that we can be "holy" pests. We need to "bother" Jesus.
A man in the bible "bothered" Jesus. He would not quite. He was a "holy" pest. His 12 year old daughter was dying and would bother Jesus until He got involved.
Involved
Do you need Jesus involved in your life? Is there something in your life that is precious to you, like Jarius' daughter, and it's dying? Maybe it's a dream. You had hopes to become someone and do something, but it seems as if it is coming to an end. Maybe it's a relationship...it seems to be fizzling out but you want it to fire up. Maybe you are concerned about our country, our economy, our generation of teenagers. It all seems to be dying. You and I need to "bother" Jesus.
The problem is this: sometimes we go to Jesus and He seems involved in others lives, but not ours. Jarius quickly found this out in Luke 8:40 and following. A huge crowd surrounded Jesus. Jarius was one of the crowd. However, he was a very important man and so he was able to press through the people quit easily to get a front row to the Lord. He fell at His feet and begged his guts out for Jesus to come to his house and save his dying daughter.
Everyone else but me
Perhaps you have been begging your guts out for Jesus to save your dying situation, to come to you and help you. Perhaps you even really expect and trust Him too. But then, it seems as if our Lord gets sidetracked. You see, after Jarius begged Jesus to come to his house, a woman with a bleeding problem of 12 years came up behind the Lord and clung to the edge of His cloak (more about that in another blog post soon). When she did, Jesus ended up paying attention to her instead of Jarius.
Have you ever been trying to get somewhere in rush hour traffic and you say to yourself, "If only I would have left earlier." Jarius was probably feeling like this. "If only I would have gotten to Jesus earlier, we would not be stuck here with all these people. This is taking for ever. Why in the world is He ignoring me to deal with this lady?" Jarius may not have known this, but as soon as the woman touched Jesus, she was instantly healed. God's Son could have moved on to go save Jarius' daughter, but He asked who touched Him, wanting someone to come forward and testify. This would only prolong Jarius' waiting even more. His daughter was already dying. By this time, she was probably dead. That's when someone came from the home of Jairus and told him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher any more." (Luke 8:49)
Bother Jesus
Have you felt like that? "I'll just stop bothering Jesus. My hope is dead. It's over." Maybe your situation has gotten this far. You've been begging Jesus and begging Jesus and begging Jesus. He helps others, heals others, saves others, provides for others while you just sit there and watch, wondering if He is going to get involved in your life like He is theirs. That's when Jesus says to us like He said to Jarius, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." (Luke 8:50)
I don't know what your "she" is...a dream, a relationship, a job, a hope, a child, a marriage. I do know this: we must keep "bothering" Jesus to get involved. Don't allow yourself to stop "bothering Jesus". Don't let others or your situation tell you to stop bothering Jesus.
Bother Jesus and then bother Him some more! Nag Him. Be a "holy pest". Believe Jesus until He brings healing, whatever that may look like for you. Don't be afraid. Jesus is worth it all! He'll get involved in your life. He already is!
