‘Overhearing what was being said, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power].” While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official’s house, saying [to Jairus], “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?” ‘ Mark 5:35-36 (Read the whole story here)
Imagine going through a period of uncertainty in your life and hearing the words ‘do not be afraid only believe’. How would you respond to this? Well, God is an expert at this. He said these words to Isaac after Abimelech had been chased him out from the land God had told him to stay. He said it to Moses who was being pursued by Pharaoh, or his successor, Joshua who took up Moses` role as the leader of God’s people. Imagine the shoes he had to fill. I am talking about a people leading, seas parting, God encountering, plague releasing vessel of God. Surely he must have been thinking how can I match that.
God also said it to Gideon after the oppression by the Midianites. And Peter who was petrified when Jesus called him to come to Him. Then there is David, Elisha, Paul, Abraham. Well, that’s just about every patriarch of the faith who walked with God.
What about Jairus? He had just lost his daughter and Jesus tells him to believe. Jairus must have been thinking ‘Uuuummmh Jesus, but my daughter is dead.’ I can assure you he like most of us was discouraged and shaken by the news.
The reason he had sought Jesus whilst his daughter was alive was because they believed Jesus was able to heal her. But what about the Jesus who raised the dead? Had Jarius heard or witnessed this before? This is where we learn how to have faith in the midst of adversity.
In Marks account we are not told of this. However, we are told about the perspective that the men from his household had. It is evident that they did not believe that Jesus could assist anymore, because the child was dead. But here is one thing we are assured of, Jairus had witnessed Jesus healing even one with a grave status, UNCLEAN! Here was a woman who had suffered severe bleeding for as long as the daughter was alive. Witnessing this, surely Jarius’ faith must have been immediately raised. But moments later, his servants reported that his daughter had died. What a huge blow on his faith!
So lets stop imagining for a second, and tell it like it is.
Scenario 1: You are in a lawsuit with your company and are being sued. There is a possibility of being suspended or worse, fired. You do the one thing you know to do, you get down n your knees to pray and you feel peace overwhelm you as you pray. Moments later you get a call to say you have been let go and still under investigation. You must be thinking, but God I was at peace. How can this be? I already lost my job.
Scenario 2: Your marriage has been on the rocks for a while. You discovered that your spouse has checked out completely out of the relationship. There is no more intimacy whatsoever. Your marriage is no longer a home, but a house with two strangers. Desperate, you turn to the one person you know can make everything alright, God. Immediately after you come across two tickets for a romantic getaway you know nothing about and think your spouse is trying to make things right. You get excited. Later in the week your spouse serves you divorce papers.
Scenario 3: Your business has been struggling for the past months. You call on God and most assuredly, he answers. You get a contract that requires you to haul in other parties. Before you can even celebrate, everything comes falling apart. You lose all assets and left with huge sums of debt.
See this? That’s all of us. It’s the mother whose excelling daughter just found out she’s pregnant. It’s the father who just got laid off a few months after a promotion or the parents whose son was in remission and is suddenly battling stage 4 cancer. This was once your story or mine, or this could still be you right now. What do you do when you have done all you know to do and everything seems to be heading south? God says do not be afraid only believe. As we read the story of Jarius encounter in detail, here are seven (7) lessons we learn:
7 Lessons learnt from Jairus’ encounter with Jesus
Seek the Lord in all circumstances
When Jairus had a problem, HE WENT TO SEEK OUT JESUS and ASKED. Jesus says come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28. That’s the promise. I encourage you to stay with the Lord, even if it looks otherwise. When we go to God in our most difficult times, we are assured of peace. No matter how your situation may look, stay in communion with God.
Gods’ promises are YES and AMEN
Jesus’ response is automatic. Its not calculated, its unchanging, unlike most human beings we approach. His promises in Him are Yes and Amen(meaning in agreement) with the Fathers will for our lives. God’s perfect will is to prosper us, give us hope and a future. When Jairus asked Jesus to come to his house, JESUS OBEYED. God says ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. Jesus responds to the promises of the Father upon our lives.
God is omnipresent
Jesus never left Jairus alone not even for one moment as he promises in Hebrews 13:5. Likewise when we choose Jesus, He walks with us THROUGH the valley, through the raging storm, in the face of giants and even through death. Jesus met a woman with an issue of blood along the way but he ddn’t leave Jairus’ situation to deal her. Jesus addressed this woman’s issue and still proceeded with Jairus. Do not allow envy to brew because of someone else’ testimony. Their miracle is evidence of the power of God at work on this earth. God hears us, and meets our needs according to His word and will. God says ‘I will not alter the thing that comes from my mouth.’ If He has said it, He means it.
God is not limited by the laws of the earth- Miracles still do happen
When Jairus received the word that his daughter had died, Jesus IGNORED them. In verse 36, Jesus teaches us to ignore whatever other news we may hear regarding situations we face. If its contrary to His word, its not the truth. Learn to differentiate between facts and truth. When you walk by faith, your actions should be evident of the hope you have. Jesus practically illustrated how faith works. He continued focused on the plea that Jairus had tabled and was unmoved, unshaken by the influence or commotion of the mourners. Likewise, God encourages you and me to shut out the worldly influences and still out the noise as we continue walking with Him.
Do not be afraid only believe and speak faith filled words
When Jesus got to the house, He said ‘the girl is sleeping’ Mark 5:39. Faith without works is dead. Jesus spoke what His faith saw. Faith speaks. Jesus’ faith did not see death, it saw life in slumber. Our situations are not dead to Jesus Christ, they are just periods of unconsciousness(of identity, authority and our relationship with Him), ignorance (of who HE is) and stagnancy. When Jesus spoke, the girl got up. The ‘situation’ was active and conscious. Speak to your situation today. We have the power to speak death or life to those ‘sleeping’ situations in our lives. PS: your situation/that area of your life is not dead, its asleep (stationary).
Bold, radical faith attracts mockery
The moment Jesus spoke, they laughed at Him verse 40. Faith attracts mockery. This is so because to the world, the promise of God and the principle of faith is discredited as ‘religion’. You will come across a whole lot people who will make fun of you for the decisions you’ve made based on faith, because the world lives by what it sees. The world is ignorant of the treasures stored up for those that know the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Sometimes your breakthrough will come from breakup or breakaway
Jesus put all of them out, expect for His disciples and the girls’ parents- Mark 5:40. There comes a time in your life where you have to let go of certain people, addictions, traditions and beliefs for God to do something new in your life. It could be a relationship(with those who mourn for your loss but laughs at your faith), it could be a philosophy that has you bound for years, because of something that happened a long time ago, it could be an idea planted in connection with the ‘current state of affairs’. Whatever that may be, it has to GO! Jesus chased people out of the room for him to enter. I encourage you to chase people out of your room(your heart) and make room for Jesus to enter and awaken the sleeping dream.
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