SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:35-43
It is my belief that what Jesus did, we could do, with God’s help and for His purpose.
Jesus was not exercising God-power as God, but as a human that trusted God, and was empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Fear and unbelief are destructive, limiting forces that hold people back from God’s best for them.
Much (not all) of what goes wrong in our lives would not turn out so bad if we handled it with hope and confidence in God.
Think about how many times you have faced a frightening situation, imagined the worse only to have everything turn out fine.
Fear and unbelief do not make these situations better, they usually always make them worse.
Because I believe God is at work in all situations, I think we can all see God work in surprising and even miraculous ways for us or through us, if we are open to it.
I am not saying that sickness will always be healed, or dead people raised, that is up to God to decide).
But I am saying that God wants to do so much more in and through me, but is held back by my fear and doubt and hesitation.
God may even use me, like Jesus, to do amazing things to help other people.
“Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
God, I admit my doubt and fear, I admit my hesitation to trust You for miracles. Help me to see that fear and doubt are not better substitutes to hope and trust. Help me to believe that You have greater things in mind for me than I could ask or imagine.
Jesus follower
trying to find His way
Don’t be afraid, Just believe. When the message came to Jairus that his daughter was dead, the accompanying message was, don’t bother Jesus. It’s too late. It is now time to move on. But what is impossible for men is possible with Jesus. He doesn’t quit at this point. He moves forward resolutely, and concentrates on this little girl who had died. He dismisses the crowds, and clears the house. He even leaves behind ¾ of his disciples, and takes only 3 of them. And Jesus continued to believe. He was not afraid of the situation, and made the impossible, possible.
Don’t be afraid, Just believe. Where do I fit into this story? I can imagine myself as one of the messengers, telling Jairus to come back home and leave Jesus alone. This to me sounds like a logical position to take. I can also envision myself being in the home with the mourners, trying to console the family. I can almost imagine being one of the disciples who wasn’t invited to come along, but who would have heard about the events later. I would have felt left out. This doesn’t seem fair. What about being Peter, James, or John. Going with Jesus to see a family who had just lost their daughter. What did Jesus mean? Don’t be afraid? Of course I am afraid. Jesus was always doing things in fearful circumstances. Seeing a dead person is not very comfortable, and then seeing them raised from the dead is a bit scary. But it is also glorious. Just believe.
Can I believe like this today? I’m afraid that I am like the messengers. I have a doubt that anything can be done in most cases of sickness, and especially in cases of death. Miracles are more the exception then the norm. I do see cases of healing and improvements in health, but more often than not, they are not miraculous.
I pray that I will just believe. I pray that Jesus will allow me to also show others to believe. I thank God that He gives us his Spirit to continue to do his work, to be his hands and feet.