Only Believe

The Story of Jairus

This week I studied one of my absolute favorite stories from the New Testament. In my own words, let me tell you the story of Jairus. Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue. His daughter was dying, so He did what most people do in times of desperation, He searched for Jesus. He was able to find Jesus and asked Him to follow Him back home to his daughter so He could heal her. Jesus of course agreed and they made their journey back to Jairus’s daughter. On their way back, the scriptures say, “much people followed him and thronged him.” Thronged means crowd or mass. So in my mind I think of lots and lots of people, which immediately stresses me out for Jairus. Keep in mind his daughter is DYING so I’m sure he wanted a quick journey back and with this massive crowd around them, I can imagine the journey was not going as quick as I’m sure he would have liked. Then, along the way, a woman with a blood disease of 12 years sees Jesus coming and knows that if she just touch His clothes she would be healed. As most of us know, she touched His clothes, and was immediately healed. Jesus stopped and asked who touched His clothes. His disciples reply by saying, “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” Jesus looks, sees the woman, and says to her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” I love this story of the woman but sometimes we forget, JAIRUS IS STILL THERE! He searched to find Jesus for something that was very urgent. His daughter was dying. It took time for Jairus to find Jesus, he has been delayed by the massive amount of people slowing them down, and now they have completely stopped all because of this woman. If I was Jairus I would most likely be thinking, “okay that’s great. Can we please hurry?! My daughter’s life is depending on you getting there! I’m sorry but we really don’t have time.” While they are stopped, messengers come to tell Jairus his daughter has died. I can only imagine the amount of disappointment and sorrow that dad felt. As we know, Jesus responds by saying, “Be not afraid, only believe.” He then continues the journey by Jairus’s side back to His daughter and raises her from the dead.

Lessons From the Story of Jairus

I love this story for a handful of reasons. First, I love the faith this father had. I’m not gonna lie. I am not a patient person. Sometimes I am the person that when I pray for help, I’m kinda like, “yes and it is urgent so if you could send help RIGHT NOW that would be great!” The patience Jairus had is a true lesson to me. Patience and faith to make the journey to find Jesus. Patience and faith for the slow and crowded travel back. Patience and faith to completely stop for someone else to get their miracle. Patience and faith to keep going even though all hope seemed lost. My friend, may we have the patience and faith Jairus had. We all are on our own journeys and some of them might seem urgent, slow, completely stopped, or hopeless, but keep going just like Jairus did. The second thing I absolutely love about this story is the example of Jesus. He is constantly loving, teaching, and healing. He loved Jairus enough to follow Him. He loved the women with the blood disease enought to stop and heal her. He loved Jairus enough to keep going and heal his daughter. I also look at this story and think of the great lesson it would have been for Jairus to see Jesus, first hand, completely heal this woman. What probably felt like a delay to Jairus, was a very valuable lesson for him and his faith while he continued on the long journey ahead. Nothing is by accident. Just like He said to Jairus, He says to you, “Be no afraid, only believe.”

Whatever journey you feel like you are on, remember Jairus. Be patient and have faith. God is aware of you. He will be there to love you, heal you, and teach you. Turn to him and take the journey with Him. You got this my friend!

XOXO

Sav