Only Believe

With our school year winding down, the choice to believe that God is still going to answer this request is sometimes very difficult. I often wish that God were as bound to time as we are, it would make it so much easier to believe, but He's not. Last night as I was trying to pray, fear that God would not answer kept creeping into my prayers, causing some of that frustration I mentioned in my last post.
This morning I was reading in Luke 8. One of the many stories told in this passage is the healing of Jarius' daughter. As Jesus was traveling to Jarius' house, He was delayed first by a crowd, then by a woman who needed healing. As Jesus continued on, Jarius' servants came to tell him not to bother Jesus anymore, his daughter had died. Jesus looked at Jarius and told him, "Be not afraid, only believe..." Jarius was faced with a momentous decision, what was he going to do? It certainly seemed time had indeed ran out for him, that Jesus could not longer heal her. Jesus, however, was telling him to have enough courage to trust that He could still work. It occurred to me as I read Jesus' admonition to Jarius that He was speaking those words to me. It only seems that time has run out for God to still fulfill this request. I look at our calendar and see very limited, if any opportunity, for God to still arrange this meeting. God is asking me to be courageous enough to still believe although time seems to be running out. Time for the daughter had run out, but time for Jarius had not. Jesus was telling him He would still work if Jarius wanted Him to. Fortunately for his daughter, Jarius found the courage to believe in Jesus and his daughter was restored to him.
I don't need to fear God will not fulfill this promise, He's already said He would. I need to be courageous enough to believe that with only 5 weeks of school left and all the craziness of our schedules, God can still work. Jarius was bound by time and so am I, God however is not and five weeks of craziness is still ample time for Him to fulfill His promise.