I have for a long time asked God to strengthen my faith. I desire to have a steadfast and unshakeable faith. Yesterday, I was reading in Mark chapter 5, and came to the story of the healing of Jarius' daughter. My reading paused when I came to this verse, "and they began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions and entered the room where the child was." It got me thinking about faith and the lack of faith. Several other verses were quickly brought to my mind.
Matthew 17:20
"He replied, 'because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 35:58
" And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith."
Hebrew 11:1
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
I have not done an in depth study on this, but from what I can remember, many times Jesus healed because the person who was asking for healing believed. Earlier in Mark 5, a woman is healed because of her faith. In verse 34 Jesus says to her, "Daughter, your FAITH has made you well;go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." In the account of Jarius' daughter, Jarius comes to Jesus and pleads with Him to heal his daughter. Jesus goes with the man, but is delayed when He encounters the woman with the issue of blood and He heals her, as I mentioned earlier. While Jesus was still speaking to this woman, people came from Jarius' house and told him to not bother Jesus with coming because his daughter had died. I don't know about you, but if I had recieved that news about my daughter, my thought process would immediately change from hope to dispare and grief. I don't know if I would even have the clarity of mind to think or believe that Jesus could raise her from the dead. I would have wanted to run, crying to her side, my mind overcome with grief. Upon overhearing what was being said, Jesus says something very interesting. He says to Jarius, " Do not be afraid any longer, only BELIEVE. " I can't help but think that Jesus knew and understood the hopelessness and finality that Jarius must have been feeling as soon as he heard his daughter had died. But Jesus said, don't worry about that. Don't be afraid. Simply believe. And I think Jarius did. I believe Jesus' words broke through the hopelessness and ushered in hope. I believe Jarius chose to put his faith in Jesus and looked past what he could see and what he had heard. I think he chose to believe in what was not seen and that he had an assurance of things hoped for. When they got to Jarius' home there was a huge commotion. People were there grieving the death of Jarius' daughter. Jesus asks them a question, which seemed so ridiculous to them that they began to laugh at Him. He asks, "why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." And that brings me back to the verse that stopped me while I was reading, because .....He put them all out! Jesus made them all leave. He sent all the disbelief right out the door! And then He turned, went with her father and mother and His companions, and spoke life back into that little girls body! What a strong testimony of faith! Faith is believing without seeing. Faith is looking past the reality of what our human minds are capable of understanding. It is believing, knowing, and trusting that God is greater then it all and He is sovereigntly in control. Faith is not a spell in which we chant "I believe" five times, click our ruby red slippers together three times, and sprinkle fairy dust and think that all of our hopes, desires, and prayers will come true. But it is believing, steadfastly and unshaking, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He has conquered sin and death, that He is alive and well and working on our behalf for our good, that He loves and cares for us, died for us, and saved us. Faith is knowing and believing that, no matter what happens to us in life, God is IN CONTROL whether it feels or looks like it to us. Faith is looking at the great impossibilities and the messes in our lives and saying God Can and God Will! He can and will bring beauty out of ashes. He can and will bring what is dead to life. He can and will bring light to the blind. He can and will bring healing to brokenness. He can and will work everything for our good. He can and will take what the devil intends for evil and use it for good in our lives and bring glory to His great name!
The question is not whether Jesus can. Because He can! The question is do I believe it? Do you believe it? Do we believe it is true for our lives?
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