“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith” These are the words of Jesus that penetrated the ears of Jairus after messengers from his town came with the grueling news that his young daughter had died. Upon arriving to the girls home Jesus found that the people were weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked. “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead, she’s only asleep.” When the crowd heard Jesus they laughed at him. But he made them all leave except the girls mother and father and his three disciples. As they went into the room where the young girl was lying he said, “Talitha kaum” which means “Little girl get up!“ And the girl who was twelve years old immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and amazed. Mark 5:35-42 nlt
No matter what century you live in this story seems almost unheard of and yet it is true. In fact many miracles have occurred during Jesus lifetime even after his death, burial and resurrection. So what is it? How can these things be? Not only did Jesus live a life of faith in God to perform many miracles, but he taught then and teaches us today that we can live with this kind of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse one says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen: it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.“ When Jesus said to the girls father “Don’t be afraid. Just have Faith.” He was teaching him that what you can see with your natural eye (troubles) is small and won’t last long, but IF you can believe…you will “see” what you’re hoping for. Jesus said something very similar to another father who came to him asking him to help his child, “...have mercy on us and help us if you can” “What do you mean IF I can?” Jesus asked, “ANYTHING is possible if a person believes” Mark 9:20-23. In these two stories, Jesus was teaching both fathers that when you have FAITH (looking beyond your present troubles) ANYTHING can happen!
Jesus Thinks Differently Than We Do: Let’s take another quick look at what Jesus said to Jairus regarding the news of his daughters death. His first response was “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” And the second was, “The child isn’t dead, she’s only asleep.” I’m sure most of us can agree that Jesus perspective and thought process was quite differently than how most think and believe. Isaiah 55:8 says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts” says the Lord “And my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine”. Even though we are Christians, many of us do not live the way Jesus lived when it comes to faith. But we must understand that this is not God’s plan. In fact in 2 Corinthians he shows us exactly how we are to “see” the trouble of today, ““That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our PRESENT TROUBLES are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now, rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see (eyes of faith) will last forever.”
We must understand that according to God’s plan and purpose, the Christian the believer is required to live a life of faith, “The Just (the believer, the Christian) shall LIVE by faith” Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38 & Galatians 3:11. It has always been God’s plan and purpose for us to live a life of faith. Even when we are surrounded by the troubles of this life it’s our heavenly Father’s desire for us to “believe” the impossible….trust that God is able to do anything! In Mark 11 Jesus says, “Have faith in God. I tell you the TRUTH you can say to this mountain ‘May you be lifted up and be thrown into the sea and IT WILL HAPPEN. But you must REALLY BELIEVE it will happen and have NO DOUBT in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for ANYTHING and IF YOU BELIEVE that you’ve received it, IT WILL BE YOURS. But when you are praying, FIRST FORGIVE anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too.” Mark 11:22-26
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