Being Afraid

Last Sunday night I was blessed by attending the Littleton church in Colorado. The lesson that evening was taken from Mark 5, and a five word sentence spoken by Jesus jumped off the page at me. Probably because it was as if he were speaking to me so personally. I don't know if he could have said anything more applicable for my life. Jairus has approached Jesus thru a large crowd and asked Jesus to save his "little daughter" who is dying. I never was blessed with a little daughter, but I was blessed with two little boys and I know how a parent feels when their children are sick.....I can only imagine how many times over that is when a child is dying. On the way, Jesus gets destracted by the woman who was ill and touched his garment. That is a whole other blog!! As that encounter comes to a close, some men came and told Jairus that the situation was hopeless, that his daughter had already died...and that he should quit bothering Jesus. Jesus heard what they had told Jairus, and here was his five word response: "DON'T BE AFRAID, JUST BELIEVE".

Those words may not resonate with you, but I confess they REALLY connect with me! I am a laid-back happy go-lucky dude on the outside, but on the inside I am a worrier. I find a peace in those words that I am not able to produce on my own. I have been told that phrase of not fearing or being afraid is the MOST repeated words of Jesus that we have recorded. Get the feeling he could relate to us? Get the feeling he knew what we feel on a day to day basis? I hope you will join me in trying to walk the walk of faith, that casts out all fear.

Yes, after being laughed at for saying she was only asleep, Jesus raised this 12 year old from the dead. He even used her father's words and called her "Little Girl".

I end with a question. For the rest of his life, how much of it do you think Jairus lived under the bondage of fear? There is no way to know, but we do know he had a sweet daily reminder walking around the house. Do you have any daily reminders?

I do.