Mark 5:36
Be not afraid, only believe!
Mark 5:36
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
A ruler of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came to Jesus in Mark 5 with an urgent request: his daughter was dying. One would imagine that this man had exhausted most of his options and resources at this point, and was more than likely desperate. How much had he heard about this Jesus beside the healings? What did he believe about Him at that point? It doesn’t really matter, because a dying child will drive a father to do whatever must be done to find a solution. And this man frantically runs to Jesus and begs Him to come lay His hands on her that she may be healed.
Jesus goes with Him, but quickly gets interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood who touches His garment and is healed. While interacting with her, terrible news arrives that Jairus’ young daughter had died. The messenger says in verse 35, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?”. Verse 36 says that “as soon as Jesus heard” the news, He told Jairus to be not afraid, only believe. But I wonder, in the fraction of a second between hearing the news and Jesus responding, what was Jairus thinking? Surely, he could read the face of the messenger as he began to speak and see that bad news was coming. What did he feel in that moment?
Have you ever been in a desperate situation like this? You’ve exhausted all your options and resources to find a solution, and you’re left with nothing else but to pray. Maybe you should’ve started with prayer anyway, but now you are on your knees begging Jesus to come through for you. And you feel like maybe it will be ok, because Jesus can do this. Jesus can do anything. But then you get the bad news. Your job didn’t come through, and you will be laid off. Your new medicine isn’t helping the way the doctors hoped it would. The tumor grew. More chemo. Your child isn’t just randomly sick but has a rare disease.
Ever been there? For a moment, you feel the despair and fear overwhelming you and you don’t know what you are going to do. But then, a still, small voice whispers: Be not afraid, only believe. Those are the words we need to hear in any storm in our lives! The reassurance of Jesus Christ telling us not to be afraid, just to believe! But believe in what, exactly? Believe in Him. Believe that He loves you more than you could ever imagine. That He is working all things together for your good. That even though we might not be able to see what is happening behind the scenes, He is holding us in His hands and He cares for us.
It is the same thing Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 14 as He is walking on the sea towards their nearly sinking ship in the middle of the storm: “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid!” Jesus is there with us in the storm. We may not understand everything that is happening, or why it is happening, but He is there. And He is calling to us, reminding us of His presence, and telling us not to fear, but rather believe. Faith is the opposite of fear. But we must choose to believe His voice instead of our fears.
Jesus then went with Jairus and raised his daughter from the dead. His faith in Jesus over his fears kept him grounded in Christ’s promises and allowed Him to see a miracle. Will we choose to believe the promises of God over our fears? Don’t trust your emotions, trust Jesus!