DON'T BE AFRAID, ONLY BELIEVE!

TEXT:

"As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe." - (Mark chapter 5 verse 36, King James Version).

Jairus was one of the rulers of the Synagogue in Jesus' days. His daughter was sick unto death and he besought the Lord Jesus to go to heal her. But before the Lord could be there, certain of his household came "which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?" (Mark chapter 5 verse 35)

     Humanly, this was very disappointing to Jairus because death is the ultimate and irreversible evil that can befall a man. Just when he was celebrating that he'd been able to get Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter, that she may be healed; and she shall live, news of her death came to his hearing. The Bible says that "As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe."

     I'm particularly fascinated by the Lord's response to what was said to Jairus. His response was quick and pungent. As Christians, we ought to be like-minded (Philippians chapter 2 verse 5). My question to you this morning is how do you respond to words or news that run counter to your aims, aspirations and expectations in life? Or still, what do you do when you hear an evil report? Your response should show and determine whether or not you oppose or accept what you hear. In the Scripture reading for today, the Bible says that as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, to not be afraid, but only believe. The word that was spoken was that Jairus' daughter was dead and that being so, there was no longer the need to trouble Jesus because the case was now utterly irredeemable or irreversible by all human consideration.

      But why did Jesus have to respond so quickly and so pungently to the evil report regarding Jairus daughter? He did that to forestall the eroding of Jairus' faith by the evil report he just heard. Before the evil report could settle in Jairus mind to  generate fear and unbelief, Jesus had to speak to strengthen, confirm and to steady his faith in Him. What we hear is powerful, hence the Bible enjoins us to take heed of what we hear (Mark chapter 4 verse 24) and how we hear (Luke chapter 8 verse 18); because ultimately, our faith is affected thereby.

    As Christians, let's learn to look beyond the realm of the senses (what we see, hear, feel, smell and taste) unto the Lord, putting our trust and faith in Him. This, in essence, was the Lord's message to Jairus when he told him not to fear, but to believe.

     The same message is going out to you today not to be afraid of the evil and terrifying circumstances around you, but to simply believe and to trust God for His intervention in your life. It doesn't matter what you have been told or what you see. Refuse to be shaken because through Jesus, victory is assured! This is the ultimate testimony of the ones that have Jesus with them. With Jesus by your side, you can't be moved because no problem is too bad for Him to solve; and with Him, all things are possible.

PRAYER:

I'm not moved by what I hear or see. I simply believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, in Jesus name.