Even when desperate ...

Jairus had a problem. He had a daughter near death and he was out of options.

I think he must have heard the news about the crazy man from the Gadarenes that Jesus had healed, and the fantastic tale of a legion of demons being cast into pigs. The Word says when Jesus returned from the Gadarenes and got off the boat, there was a mob of people waiting for Him. Jairus was one of them.

Jairus - a ruler of the synagogue. Synagogue leaders didn't come to Jesus for healing. They were looking for ways to discredit Him, not receive from Him!

Jairus was desperate. He fell at Jesus feet and begged Him to come heal his daughter. He spoke in faith, "Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."

So Jesus (and the crowd) started to Jairus' house.

Halfway there, Jesus stopped to heal the woman with the issue of blood. Jairus must have been frantic inside himself, wishing Jesus would hurry on to heal his daughter.

Then messengers of doom arrived - Jairus' daughter was dead.

Mark 5:36 NKJV As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

Mark 5:36 AMPLIFIED Overhearing but ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing."

Sometimes you have to tune those negative voices out and focus on what you believe.

I love how the Amplified puts it, Jesus heard the negative report but "ignoring what they said." He instructed Jairus to "keep on" believing.

This makes me think of the scripture that says, "Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8 AMP.

Don't give up!

Surround yourself with like-minded people.
Mark goes on to say that "He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James."

When Jesus did arrive at Jairus' house, the people there thought it was a waste of time for Jesus to be there - the girl was dead, after all. Again, Jesus separated the nay-sayers from the believers and sent them out of the room.

The little girl was instantly raised from the dead!

How can we apply the story of Jairus to our lives today?

Has fear killed something for you?
We are living in a season where many have lost their jobs, and celebrations and trips have been cancelled because of the fear of Coronavirus. In fact, daily life has been put on hold, we are hunkered down in our homes; and when we do go out? We look like glove-wearing masked men on a mission to forage for any supplies we can find!

Remember to replace fear with faith.

Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, only keep on believing."

Focus on what the Word says and shut your ears to the negative voices.

Oh, and one other thing. Jairus had to keep on traveling to his destination - the place where his daughter lay.

We have to stay on our journey when fear tries to take us captive.

Don't give up.

In this age of pandemic fears, stock piling and shortages, I've resurrected some of my earlier posts about the fears we all experience. I'm calling it F.E.A.R. - False Evidence Appearing Real because most of what we are afraid of is in our minds. Today we've discussed when fear makes us desperate.

You can also look at my last post, "Even when it looks scary," which focuses on the fear of life never being the same.

I'm linking this post with the communities at Inspire Me Monday and #TellHisStory