"As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe."

 

"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

These two statements, recorded by Mark, show the essence of the relationship
between the Lord and His children. The context of the first is that of a
man that came to Christ to request the life of his daughter. Jairus'
daughter, being 12 years old, lay at death's door. Jairus, as any father
would do, sought help where he could get it. He turned to the Lord. And
turning to the LORD was not a foolish thing to do.

As he and Jesus traveled to Jairus' house, a woman approached the LORD and
touched the hem of His garment. With that touch, she was healed of an
affliction with which she had suffered for 12 years. Jesus knew full well
who it was that had touched Him, but He drew her out by questioning who it
was. She responded and at the end of Jesus' conversation with her, men came
from Jairus' house to inform him of the passing of his daughter.

"Why bother the Master any more?" they asked. Surely Jairus' heart sank at
the news. Perhaps he wondered about the interruption and whether that
prevented the LORD from healing his daughter in time. In any case, the end
had come. Jesus' loving response to the news was, "Be not afraid, only
believe." Jairus had said nothing. But Jesus knew what was on his heart.

Of the news that a person could receive, news of the passing of a child has
to be the hardest. Jairus' only daughter had just died. Jesus simply said,
"be not afraid, only believe." Something had motivated Jairus to go and
make the request of Jesus on behalf of his daughter. Certainly, he believed
that Jesus could do something about it. Jesus now tells him to continue to
believe. He also tells him to not be afraid. The trials that come invoke
in us fears of all kinds. In 1 Peter, Peter tells his readers to "Cast all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you." In this portion, then, Christ is
pointing out the essence of our relationship with Him. Trust Him. Believe
Him. Let nothing come between you and Him, even your fears. Trust Him;
believe Him in spite of fears.

In the next case, Jesus and three of His disciples were coming down off of
the mount where Jesus had been transfigured. Now they are met by a crowd of
people among whom is a man whose son is demon possessed. He had brought his
son to Jesus' disciples to be cured. And they were unable to do the job.
The father now implores Jesus to do something. Jesus' answer to him is, "If
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." The
father is brought to tears as he cries, "Lord, I believe. Help thou mine
unbelief."

Here is a man that wants so much to trust in His LORD. But the anguish of
his situation screams in his ear. Jesus said elsewhere that if we have
faith the size of a mustard seed, we can command mountains to move, and they
will. It is not the size of the faith that is the motive force, it is Who
that faith is in! But we all feel one strong need, and that is for more
faith. We want to believe God for great things, but often have a deep sense
that our faith is not enough. This father, whose son is wallowing on the
ground under the power of a demon, puts his finger on that lack in his own
life, and asks Jesus to increase his faith. Take away that which is
unbelief and replace it with faith in You, he says. Jesus then takes
action, and restores his son to health.

God wants us to believe Him. He honors faith. Faith is not dependence on a
prescribed set of beliefs. Rather, it is complete dependence upon God for
all things. Do we think that our situation is far bigger than He is able to
control? Do we believe Him? Do we trust Him enough to simply be obedient?
That is all that Jesus asks of Jairus. And for his belief, Jairus' daughter
is healed - No, she is raised again from the dead! Belief (faith) and
obedience is all God asks of us. But having seen that, we realize (don't
we?) that we fall far short of complete faith in Him. We worry that we
cannot even muster enough faith to equal a mustard seed. The second father
willingly betrays himself in his lack of faith. Jesus does not rebuke him.
The man throws himself altogether upon the LORD, even asking for the
necessary supply of faith. And Jesus graciously does that which is
requested. The man's son is restored to a right mind. God is not waiting
for us to mess up. He is waiting for us to admit our deepest needs, and to
throw ourselves altogether on Him. In so doing we are only admitting that
what He has already said is true of us. We need Him in everything, even the
smallest matters. "Oh for faith to trust Him more!"