Bible reading: Mark 5:21-24, 35-43
I really love this passage of Scripture. It talks about a man coming to Jesus as he is worried about his sick daughter. He is so concerned she might die, that he comes to Jesus and asks Him to pray for her. He wants Jesus to go with him to his house. Sadly while he is with Jesus, some friends come and say your daughter has died. As I dwelt upon it four things came to mind.
1. Bring your problem to Jesus
Jairus had a problem. His young daughter was not well and he feared for her life. He knew Jesus could heal her so he brought his request to Him. Bringing our problem to Jesus should be our first response. Often we try to sort things out ourselves, but Jesus has all power and authority and bringing our problems to Jesus makes sense.
2. Do not be afraid, just have faith
In the passage we see that Jairus’ friends came to tell him his daughter had died. We see that Jesus did not listen to them. He just said, “Do not be afraid, just have faith” in verse 36. Then they set out for his house where the daughter was. I can imagine what the journey would have been like. His mind would have been racing. My daughter is dead, but Jesus said to have faith. In bad situations it is important to trust Jesus and His power, not what we see or hear.
3. Do not listen to the doubters
In this passage we see that Jesus did not listen to the friends who said the daughter had died (v35) and He put out the people who laughed at Him on His arrival (v40). Jesus said she is not dead, just asleep. Jesus only took the Mother and Father in to the room along with the three disciples Peter, James and John – three people of faith. When we are going through things it is important to listen to the words of Jesus in the Bible, not the negative voices around us.
4. Allow Jesus to intervene
We see that Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to arise in Aramaic. The girl who was dead, rose to life. Jesus then gave the girl back to her parents alive and well. Jesus intervened and performed an amazing miracle. The dead girl was now alive! When facing problems in this world we just have to ask Jesus to intervene in faith and allow Him to do what only He can do. Our part is to bring it to Jesus and trust Him for the outcome.
Closing reflection
For us today it is so easy to get discouraged when bad things come our way. We can become downcast and listen to all the negative people around us. They key, I believe, for the Christian is to look to Jesus. Bring your problem to Jesus, invite Him in to your situation in faith and allow Him to intervene. You can trust Jesus because He is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He has all power and nothing is impossible to Him. Do not be afraid, just have faith.