Take My Hand

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

TAKE MY HAND

Mark 1:29-31

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

NIV

It is interesting to consider the hometown and the homes in which the Apostles lived before they meant Jesus and here according to Mark as well as Luke Jesus went to the home where Simon and Andrew lived. Some believe this was the town of Bethsaida by the sea, not far from Capernaum where we are told about Jesus teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath and with authority. What is so special about this account that Mark tells us about is that it is just an ordinary day in an ordinary home and the mother-in-law of Simon, who will be renamed by Jesus later as Peter, was not feeling well, as she had a fever. All we are told here is that after Jesus was told about her, he simply went to her and took her hand and helped her up and the fever left her. There was no big fanfare, no long drawn out prayers for healing, no special words, but only that he took her hand and she was healed. That is not to say that there might be times when we need to petition the Lord with long-winded elegant words, but in reality, all we need is for Jesus to take our hand and we will be healed. Of course, Jesus was physically present in that home and he was able to physically take her by the hand. We would expect anyone that Jesus touched, or that even touched the hem of his garment, such as that woman with the issue of blood, would be healed instantly. But what is the reason that we are told all about the times that Jesus raised people from either their sickbed or even their death bed? It has to be so that we can have the faith that Jesus will heal us as well. However, all we need for this healing is to have Jesus take us by the hand. We can only do this now through faith, as Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father consistently making intercession for us who believe in Him. So what keeps us from being healed? Why do we persist in suffering from pain? Why does it seem that our prayers are always the same day in and day out for the same people who are suffering some illness or ailment? We know Jesus heals, we know there is healing in the name of Jesus. We know that he told us to ask anything according to the will of the Father and he would give it to us. Here in this account according to Mark, they simply told Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law. They did not need to say anything else for Jesus went to her. So then, maybe we just need to tell Jesus what we need, that we have a pain, that we have a fever, that we have an illness, that we have some ailment, or whatever, and he will come to us, and take us by the hand and help us up, and we will be healed. Maybe the simple reason why we continue in our suffering is that we have doubt, that we really don’t believe he will actually heal us. Maybe we just want people to have sympathy for us, feel our pain, so to speak, or we just like to complain, who knows what lurks in the heart of man? Jesus does! So let us simply tell him what our problem is and allow him to take us by the hand and help us get up, so we can wait on him.