“35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat” Mark 5:35-43.
Like yesterday’s story, today we hear Jesus calling us to put our faith in Him! What Jesus spoke to the synagogue leader He is seeking to us today: “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
It amazes me that Jesus says here that we may be afraid of believing in Jesus. But believe we must! What makes us afraid of believing in Jesus are often our own thoughts. For example, we wonder, “Will believing in Jesus really matter?” “Am I capable of believing in Jesus?” “What if I sin and walk away from Jesus? Then where is my faith?” Or sometimes we are afraid because we wonder what others may think about us if we believe in Jesus Christ! Or we read stuff, or hear about stuff, that is written in the bible, and we wonder how anyone could believe in a lot of what is in the Bible. For example, a friend recently told me that it seems crazy to believe that the world was created in 6 days, and then God got so tired He took the seventh day off to rest. “How do we know that? And how can we believe in that?
Today Jesus says to us, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” So I invite you in prayer today to ask God for faith, despite how much we sometimes mess up our relationship with Him. Our faith falters too often as we sometimes just put God on the back burner of life.
Don’t give up. Come back to the Lord. Ask Him for forgiveness. Ask Him for the kind of faith He wants you to have! And when you get up each morning, ask God: “Lord, today please give me enough faith to believe in You and make it through this day as Your faithful and loving follower. Amen!”
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” Acts 16:31.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9.
“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”
1 John 5:19.
“Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7.
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