Do you remember the New Testament story of how Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead?
Jesus is informed of a girl's sickness and sets off to heal her, but he is "distracted" by a woman suffering from hemorrhaging who was cured by touching his robe. while Jesus calls out to the crowd, to establish who touched him.... the little girl dies of her illness. To the human eye, Jesus failed... he didn't get there in time. However it's another one of those situations that I spoke of the other day. God deliberately allows the situation to deteriorate so that he can demonstrate his sovereignty, love, grace and power in a greater way (you can see the same thing happen in the story of Lazarus).
When Jesus eventually shows up, he tells those around that she is merely sleeping and that he has come to wake her. He utters the Aramaic phrase "Talitha Cumi" which means "little girl, wake up". It is at this point that she is miraculously restored to life.
My week has been a little like that, though not literally of course.
In my last entry I revealed my reaction to the news that I had not been appointed to the position I had applied for at work. Despite my best efforts, I was pipped to the post and naturally disappointed... but for perhaps the first time in a good, long while - I was at peace, I knew good had come out of it and I felt God would work the situation towards the best outcome.
Yesterday I was greeted with the news that the applicant who narrowly beat me, had declined to accept the position once it had been offered... and so it had been offered to me as the second most qualified candidate. I think God was more than adequately demonstrating a point to me. It was only after events had gone beyond my capacity to influence the situation, that they turned in my favour. If I had succeeded straight off, I may have been tempted to boast in my own abilities. As it is, I have an opportunity to boast about my God... which is far better.
My whole outlook to life seems to be evolving... actually that probably doesn't adequately explain it - transforming would be a better word. Evolving implies a long and gradual process, but the things that are happening to me are much quicker.
I feel that God's voice is speaking tenderly to me.... "Talya Cumi" - "little boy, wake up" (I know you were wondering how I was going to work the title in and now you know*). I'm feeling far more relaxed around people and my energy levels are way up. I believe that the process of change that stalled some time around this time of year in 2004, has been reinvigorated.
Some of the things that I have stumbled across in other peoples comments here, as well as their own blogs... seem to be reminding me that God would pick up where he left off. Now it seems he is beginning to lead me back to blessing. Not because of my desire or effort, but because of his joy and his grace.
I pray the fruit of God's blessings will be yours to experience in the coming days.
Nick
*
When researching the Aramaic masculine equivalent of "Talitha Cumi" I came across something very interesting. The word "Talitha" is Aramaic slang for a ewe lamb... and at the time it was common at the time of Jesus for Hebrews to use the term in connection with children. It's the same as we do today when we call kids "little sparrow" or "kitten" or anything similar.
Now the word "Talya" is the male equivalent and it also is slang and literally means "lamb". Hebrew parents would call their boys it all the time.
It has therefore been argued that the term "Lamb of God" as used in the New Testament may not just have been allegorically used... it could have been a literal term - making it clear to the early reader that Jesus is God's Son. I don't know if that's the concrete case (that Lamb of God was understood in that context then), but it's an interesting thought.
Jesus is informed of a girl's sickness and sets off to heal her, but he is "distracted" by a woman suffering from hemorrhaging who was cured by touching his robe. while Jesus calls out to the crowd, to establish who touched him.... the little girl dies of her illness. To the human eye, Jesus failed... he didn't get there in time. However it's another one of those situations that I spoke of the other day. God deliberately allows the situation to deteriorate so that he can demonstrate his sovereignty, love, grace and power in a greater way (you can see the same thing happen in the story of Lazarus).
When Jesus eventually shows up, he tells those around that she is merely sleeping and that he has come to wake her. He utters the Aramaic phrase "Talitha Cumi" which means "little girl, wake up". It is at this point that she is miraculously restored to life.
My week has been a little like that, though not literally of course.
In my last entry I revealed my reaction to the news that I had not been appointed to the position I had applied for at work. Despite my best efforts, I was pipped to the post and naturally disappointed... but for perhaps the first time in a good, long while - I was at peace, I knew good had come out of it and I felt God would work the situation towards the best outcome.
Yesterday I was greeted with the news that the applicant who narrowly beat me, had declined to accept the position once it had been offered... and so it had been offered to me as the second most qualified candidate. I think God was more than adequately demonstrating a point to me. It was only after events had gone beyond my capacity to influence the situation, that they turned in my favour. If I had succeeded straight off, I may have been tempted to boast in my own abilities. As it is, I have an opportunity to boast about my God... which is far better.
My whole outlook to life seems to be evolving... actually that probably doesn't adequately explain it - transforming would be a better word. Evolving implies a long and gradual process, but the things that are happening to me are much quicker.
I feel that God's voice is speaking tenderly to me.... "Talya Cumi" - "little boy, wake up" (I know you were wondering how I was going to work the title in and now you know*). I'm feeling far more relaxed around people and my energy levels are way up. I believe that the process of change that stalled some time around this time of year in 2004, has been reinvigorated.
Some of the things that I have stumbled across in other peoples comments here, as well as their own blogs... seem to be reminding me that God would pick up where he left off. Now it seems he is beginning to lead me back to blessing. Not because of my desire or effort, but because of his joy and his grace.
I pray the fruit of God's blessings will be yours to experience in the coming days.
Nick
*
When researching the Aramaic masculine equivalent of "Talitha Cumi" I came across something very interesting. The word "Talitha" is Aramaic slang for a ewe lamb... and at the time it was common at the time of Jesus for Hebrews to use the term in connection with children. It's the same as we do today when we call kids "little sparrow" or "kitten" or anything similar.
Now the word "Talya" is the male equivalent and it also is slang and literally means "lamb". Hebrew parents would call their boys it all the time.
It has therefore been argued that the term "Lamb of God" as used in the New Testament may not just have been allegorically used... it could have been a literal term - making it clear to the early reader that Jesus is God's Son. I don't know if that's the concrete case (that Lamb of God was understood in that context then), but it's an interesting thought.
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