“36 But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe.'”

Mark 5:36
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Words of instruction, comfort and containing a promise. Jesus didn’t insult the mourners as they laughed, and He didn’t dismiss Jairus’ concern. Instead, He pontes him and his wife toward the light that hope provides. They still had to trust Him, they still had to go in and make the effort to believe, but Jesus will be the One who does the heavy lifting.

Worry can be all consuming. It creates obsessions, fuels doubt and kindles the wildfires of fear. When we worry about things that we cannot control, we fall prey to a trap, a pit that is almost impossible to climb out of, a maze that has no perceived end. It builds stress, and blinds us to what can be. Worry is deadly.

But Jesus reinforces their faith with simple words of comfort. ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe.’ He acknowledges the state of their hearts and minds. He does not dismiss their pain. He simply instructs them to point their pain toward hope and their minds toward what can still happen. If they had faith to go to Jesus in the first place, then they need to let that faith follow through.

Trusting while in deep worry and fear almost seems like madness. In those moments, you feel like you’re denying reality and choosing a waking dream instead. But faith is hoping and trusting in what we cannot see or understand fully, and it does it’s work best when it is plain and obvious that we cannot be the ones completing what needs to be done. Even following Jesus’ command to GoLove people requires a faith beyond fear. The Gospel message is definitely good news, but so often we doubt our part in seeing that work done. Faith moves us forward, the cross and empty tomb cry out to us to simply have faith and to leave fear behind. Jesus did it for us, surely we can believe in return, His strength providing the confidence we need.