Fearless

Mark 5:35-36 “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official (Jairus) saying, ‘Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?’ But Jesus overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, ‘Do not be afraid, only believe’”.

This past year has been a 180 degree turn in so many areas, but I believe this area is the biggest one for me. This past year, fear has been broken off of me in so many areas and I’m learning more and more areas where I have been acting out of fear and quickly uprooting it. God is so good and has so many great things up ahead for my life and yours as we give ourselves to His Word and His direction from the Spirit of God.

Jairus in this passage approached Jesus at the beginning of the chapter implored Jesus to come and heal his daughter who was nearly dead. Jesus, the willing Healer He is, went with him. On the way there was a bit of a hold up when a lady with a blood issue found Jesus touched His cloak and was healed. As this was happening, officials from Jairus’ house came to him and said that his daughter has died so there was no point in having Jesus come. But before Jairus could let anything out of his mouth, Jesus piped up and said “Don’t be afraid, only believe”. This statement is life-altering.

Jairus came to Jesus on the basis of faith – he believed that Jesus could heal his daughter. But what was he faced with later on? His daughter was not only sick, but now she died so his faith had to be taken to a different level. It was obvious the ones who approached Jairus had no faith for they said that she had died and to not bother Jesus anymore, afterall, he can’t raise the dead…But the words that came forth from Jesus’ mouth gave Jairus faith, faith that Jesus could raise his daughter up from the dead, and Jesus didn’t want any words of doubt to come out of Jairus’ mouth – Jesus knows the importance of words, and so should we (We have the ability to create and to destroy with our mouths). Here is the point that I want to get to. If there had been any fear in Jairus about Jesus not being able to heal his daughter or raise his daughter from the dead, it would not have happened.

Fear should be just like an abomination when it comes to us believing God for what He has promised. Doubt says “I don’t believe that can happen”, or in this case, “I don’t believe God can do it”. This is gross…That is basically calling God a liar, the One Who has never lied and never will, the One Who gave all He had so that we could have all He had. That’s why Jesus jumped all over that situation, He didn’t want any fear in there! And it’s the same thing with us, He doesn’t want any fear in us, none at all.

Does this happen overnight? No…This takes work, it takes dedication, it takes commitment, it takes time, but it is possible and is so worth the work! The Word says that faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God and fear is the opposing force of faith. The more faith we put in, the less fear will be able to abide. God told me this in the middle of sickness I was dealing with, an unknown sickness – “Uproot the fear and I will take care of the rest”. How can I do this? How can we do this?

Spending time with Him every day, in the Word, in prayer, focusing on His kingdom rather than on ourselves. These are critical and necessary and fundamental! This will produce fearlessness!