Just Believe

Don’t be afraid, just believe. – Luke 8:50

In Luke’s gospel chapter eight, we meet a synagogue leader by the name Jairus who desperately needed God’s help. His twelve years old daughter was critically ill and she didn’t have much time left. As soon as Jesus landed, Jairus came to Jesus and fell at his feet pleading with Him to come to his house and heal his only daughter who was sick. So Jesus agreed, and as He was heading towards Jairus house, someone touched Him and He felt power come from him.

The woman who touched Jesus’ cloak had had a bleeding problem for twelve years but no doctor could heal her. When she touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, she was immediately healed. Now, Jairus was present when all this was happening. He desperately needed Jesus to come with Him to his house and heal his daughter but now, he got delayed as he watched Jesus heals another person.

Very often, we find ourselves in the very same position where Jairus was at the time. We go before God in prayers asking Him to meet our needs, but instead, He answers another person’s prayers first. What do you do when you witness God blessing another person or your enemies with the very same blessing that you prayed for? Jairus asked Jesus to heal his twelve years old daughter, but in the process Jesus healed a woman who had an illness for twelve years.

In such situation, you begin to think that God has forgotten about you, and it feels like God has skipped you over to attend to another person’s needs. So, you end up asking, ‘What about me Lord?’ If we are not careful, we give the enemy a foothold to torment us. Before long, we become jealous of another person’s blessings, we see ourselves as more deserving of a blessing than others; hence we compare and complain while finding fault in God’s work.

We may never understand why and how God does His business; that’s not our part to figure out, our business is to worship and offer thanksgiving in all circumstances.

While Jesus was still speaking, someone from the house of Jairus came with saddening news saying, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” – Luke 8:49. You can imagine how disappointed Jairus must have been when he received such news of his daughter’s death. When Jairus came to Jesus, he knew there was hope and he could find the help that he needed. He felt like time had run out, and the only hope which he had, was lost.

You may be in such situation where Jairus was at the time. You may be at a point in life where you believe that God has let you down, so you get angry at Him for not answering your prayers in time. Or you may have lost hope in life simply because you lost your loved ones, or because time has ran out on you, and it feels like you’ve lost all the good opportunities life had for you. If that’s you in such situation, the enemy may come to you whispering lies into your head.

Just like what Jairus was told, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore”, the enemy may come whispering in your mind things like: “Don’t bother praying to God anymore, He won’t listen to you, or don’t bother believing in God anymore He won’t help you or don’t bother reading the Bible, what’s the point of reading it and you don’t get the help.” Friends don’t listen to such lies that the enemy may whisper to you during your lowest moments in life.

Here’s what Jesus says to you and I whenever we find ourselves in such moments like Jairus: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”- Luke 8:50. In other words, Jesus is saying “Don’t set your eye on your present circumstances, but set them on God.” Set your confidence in God, you only need to believe in Him despite your present circumstances. It may look like you have reached the end, but you are just in the middle of your story, you haven’t seen the end yet. God still has something better waiting for you, something better than what you think you might have lost or missed.

Remember, your situation is never too hard for God to handle, and what may come as a surprise for you is never a surprise to God. He knows how to turn your situation around, He has beauty for your ashes, peace for your troubles and what may have looked like the end for you; God will turn it around and make it the beginning of a new season full of God’s blessings. Don’t be afraid; only believe that God is working something better for you in this very moment.

Jairus came to Jesus for the healing of his daughter. And when his daughter died, he must have thought that was the end, but he didn’t know what Jesus had in mind for him. He prayed for healing of his daughter but Jesus had resurrection in mind. Jairus got double the blessings. Not only did Jesus raise Jairus daughter back to life, but He also healed her from her illnesses. When she awoke, she was alive and well.

Do not fret when your prayers aren’t answered according to your timeline, or when things doesn’t turn out the way you expected them to be; but give thanks to God for He is good knowing that in this very moment He’s preparing a double blessing for you. Thank God even when you don’t see a way, and thank God because He has something better coming your way.

Fear has a way of blocking our view of God that’s why we often see impossibilities. But when we believe, we see God’s power at work, we begin to see possibilities, we see hope, and we find strength to keep moving despite every whisper of lies the enemy may try to stop us with.

 In whatever situation you may find yourself in, however difficult it may look, all that Jesus is asking us to do is ‘to only Believe.’ God Bless you.