(Mark 5:26 NIV) Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Faith and Patience VOL III – Never Give Up!” by continuing with the story of Jairus and his daughter. I hope you can see by now that walking/living by faith is not always going to be easy. We all face challenges. It’s just that when you are believer and you are standing in faith, you can face those challenges WITH God and not alone. Abraham, for example, had to believe God to have a baby when he was 99 years old and his wife was 90. And oh, by the way, his wife had been barren all her life. The physical evidence was clearly staring him in the face. But the Bible says that he believed in a God, “Who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom 4:18). In other words, he had to believe that God was bigger than his body, Sarah’s body, and every negative reality that was associated with this situation. In the natural, their dream of having a baby should have been dead, but Abraham believed in a God that could give life to any dead situation. He believed in a God who could look at darkness and speak life, who could look at barrenness and speak birth, who could look at destruction and speak repair, and who could look at death and speak life! That’s the kind of God Abraham believed in. Because of his belief, he was able to “consider not” (or zone out) every negative thing staring him the face. His decision to consider not, enabled him to “stagger not” (or remain in faith) at the promise of God. In other words, Abraham’s focus was not on his problem, but rather on God’s promise.
This takes us back to Jairus. Jairus was believing God for Jesus to lay hands on his daughter and for his daughter to be healed and to live. He received a report from his house that his daughter was no longer at the sick stage, she was at the death stage. Breath had left her body. Her heart was no longer pumping. Blood was no longer flowing through her veins and air was no longer flowing through her lungs. Wow! What would he do? While he was wrestling with whether or not to tell Jesus to forget it and turn around, Jesus jumped in and said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” I know I keep going back to this point, but this is very important. Abraham had to learn how to consider what God said and over what his circumstances were presenting to him. Jairus had to learn the same thing, and he had to do it very quickly. His daughter was dead. This was a real problem and his problem was staring him in the face. But if he could muster up the ability to continue to believe God, to believe in a God that can give life to any dead situation, then his daughter still had hope. Yes, she was dead, but God was bigger than his problem, her problem, and your problem! The issue was no longer whether or not God could; the question was whether or not Jairus could still believe?
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. You must be consistent in what you are believing God for, even when physical evidence that is contrary to your belief is staring you in the face.
2. If you start considering everything that is against your belief, it is only a matter of time before you stagger, waiver, and doubt.
3. While it sounds irrational, people of faith must have the ability to stand on a promise of God, even when it goes against reason, logic, and evidence. Even when it does not make sense, you must still believe.
4. God is not sensual, He is spiritual and He expects us to remain in faith, even if it goes against common sense.
Closing Confession: Father, I choose to believe You, Your promises, and Your Word. I believe and I will continue to believe – to stand and to continue to stand – even when reason, logic, and physical evidence are telling me that I should not. There is nothing impossible for You and there is nothing impossible for me when I believe You. You are the God who can give life to any dead situation and I believe You will move in my life – Today! But even if it does not happen today, I will continue to believe! I am a believer and not a doubter. I walk by faith and not by fear. I agree with what You desire to accomplish in my life and I will never put a NO where You have already put a YES. No matter how hard things get and no matter how much physical evidence is staring me in the face, telling me to give up on my faith, I declare that I never will! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
