"But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up."
Mark 9:27
After the convulsions, after the crowd, after the chaos, the boy was lying on the ground and most people assumed he was dead. The situation looked finished.
Then Jesus took him by the hand and raised him.
That is the pattern of Jesus. He steps into what looks finished and calls it back to life.
He does not stand at a distance and announce healing. He reaches down, makes contact, and lifts.
Personal. Present. Compassionate.
The disciples thought they could fight evil and despair without Him. They found out they could not.
But Jesus showed them exactly what victory looks like when He is the one doing it.
It looks like a hand extended to someone everyone else had written off.
It looks like life returning to something that looked dead.
Whatever in your life looks past the point of recovery, it is not past the reach of Jesus.
He is still the same person who knelt in the dirt and pulled a boy back to his feet.
Think of one person or situation you have nearly given up on.
Bring it to Jesus today and ask Him to reach into it the way He reached for that boy.
Prayer:
Jesus, thank You that You do not give up on what looks lost. You reach into the worst of it and bring life. I am trusting You with what feels too far gone in my life. Take me by the hand. Raise what has fallen. You are able, and I believe You. In Jesus' name, Amen.