While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” – Mark 5:35-36
Sometimes it looks like your dream is dead. The situation is hopeless. It’s time to give up. All the voices in your head and in your ear are saying, “Why even pray about this anymore, just give up. It’s over.”
You look around for someone to blame but it was inevitable. The relationship was going to fail anyway. The company was going to shut down no matter what you did. The medical diagnosis was bleak from the start.
In this passage, Jairus had come to Jesus and asked Him to save his daughter, who was dying. They were on the way, but there was an enormous crowd surrounding them, holding them up.
“The Chosen” depicts this scene well: The crush and noise of the people, the urgency on Jairus’ face, and the disciples’ best attempts at making things flow smoothly so they could get to Jairus’ house in time.
Real life had to be much the same: There was no way to know how long they had before Jairus’ daughter would die. When the woman with the 12 years of bleeding touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, He turned around and asked, “Who touched me?”
The disciples immediately jumped to remind Jesus of the obvious fact that they were in a crowd, so it could have been anyone. This is Jesus… and in their stress and tunnel vision, their response was a lot dumber than what they thought of Jesus’ question. To them, this was a waste of time, they didn’t need any distractions, they needed to get there, and NOW.
I’m not criticizing. I have things like that every day that are too important to stop and cast my attention to someone who needs it. That’s human, but that’s one of the things Jesus is asking us to overcome. Listen to the little things, no matter what is going on.
And imagine Jairus. There they are, stuck in traffic, and his daughter is dying. They’re not far away, but the crowd is making the trip longer and harder than it should be. I can’t imagine his stress as he probably tried to pull Jesus along, probably trying to make an opening like an offensive lineman. I’m sure he didn’t begrudge the bleeding woman immediately, but as he watched Jesus stop, can you imagine the thought train?
“She’ll be fine, Lord, you can find her later. She’s been bleeding for 12 years? Well one more day won’t hurt, tell her to follow us. Isn’t she unclean? What if the pharisees throw Jesus out of the city for touching someone unclean before we get to the house? Why are we stopping, Lord? My daughter’s going to die!”
And the word came. In the delay, Jairus’ daughter had passed. He was too late.
His friends, probably as defeated as he was, say, “Why bother Jesus anymore? We’re out of time.”
Jairus is processing the news, and they’re probably hugging him and consoling him, and the throng is probably hard to hear through. But Jesus did.
“Don’t be afraid, just believe.”
That’s what He’s saying to you. When that situation is dire, remember your faith. Jairus had faith that Jesus could save his daughter, and against all odds — EVEN DEATH — Jesus did. That faith the size of a mustard seed in the God of Creation is more powerful than any power on Earth or under the Earth.
It’s not a promise that He’ll always raise the dead or resuscitate a situation, but it is a promise that your faith enables miracles of historic proportions. That’s not an exaggeration.
What are you facing today? Don’t be afraid. Just believe. ❤️
Photo by Matt Howard on Unsplash.
