For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Mark 5
In this passage there was a young girl who died. She had an encounter with Jesus, and then she lived. There were five direct witnesses to this event, but Jesus “gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this” (Mark 5:43a). Seriously?!? How do you NOT talk about such a thing??
And yet, I was once a young girl, dead in my sin. I had an encounter with Jesus and now I live. I have received no orders of silence. On the contrary, I have been commissioned, as the formerly demon-possessed man from the region of the Gerasenes, to “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19). How is it that I struggle to talk about such a thing?
1 Sam. 23-24
God clearly protected David. He never allowed Saul to get to him. There was always a warning, as at Keilah, that gave David time to flee, or a divine intervention, as at Ziiph, when Saul was drawn away due to a Philistine attack. God didn’t just protect and provide for David physically, though. Being a fugitive with hundreds of people in his care and constantly pursued by the King, of all people, was certainly a very difficult life. Even the most steadfast among us would grow weary and discouraged under the constant stress. But God’s care for His own isn’t lacking. Where Saul constantly failed to find David, Jonathan succeeded. “And Saul’s son, Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.” (1 Sam. 23:16).
That detail in David’s story is an encouragement to me. It lets me know that I can trust God to provide the strength I need for this journey of life. It also inspires me to look for opportunities to be Jonathan for somebody else. This is part of God’s design for His family, that we should help one another along. “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Heb. 3:13).