Mark 5:36
36 But overhearing[a] what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
Fear is an interesting emotion. So many synonyms for what fear is but at the end of the day, it can be an emotion that defeats us. An emotion that we buy into and spend so much effort on that we become it's puppet and it is glad to pull our strings. Scientists have studied fear since the early 1900's. There was one study done with rats and they monitored the reaction of them based on the distance of a predator. Obviously, they found their levels of fear elevated the closer in proximity a predator was. Then scientists thought to study humans and fear. They showed babies pictures of dogs. No response of course. But, when the picture of the dog was shown along with a loud noise, it freaked them out. Over time all they had to do was bring out a picture of the dog and their response was fear, loud noise or not. They began to associate their fear with that picture. If we look at one of the purest definitions of fear, it is a perceived threat. Perceived threat. It may happen.
So many of us that have been through hurt in one form or another become accustomed to wringing our hands, anxiety, playing the "what if" game. We begin to live life waiting for the picture of that dog to be pulled out any moment. We begin to not only wait for it, we come to expect it. We live life defeated even if that picture isn't ever pulled out. The enemy has already conditioned our response and all he has to do is cue that picture in our minds and we go into fear mode. I'm wondering what that picture is for you? The fear of not being loved, the fear of something happening to our children, the fear of death, the fear of not making it financially, the fear of our spouse cheating, the fear of taking risks, the fear of living a life of mediocrity but we're to afraid to change, the fear that despite all our prayer God won't show up.
Think about it, when you consider the amount of time you spend worrying about something versus living and waiting on God, it's staggering isn't it? I had a dear sweet friend come into my life many years ago. She was a strong woman of faith. She had experienced one of the hardest lives, things you would never wish on anybody. But she had a faith that could move mountains. That was a very dark time in my life. I would meet with her and she'd say in the most loving way, "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry you're going through that right now." and then in a more stern but very loving way she'd say, "Ok you have 3 minutes to have your pity party, then we're gonna get on our knees and ask God to get us through it!" It still makes me laugh as I remember that. She was a wise woman. She knew that fear could paralyze me if I didn't remember how big God is, how much He loves me, how important faith is to get us through our trials.
I'm reminded of Mark 5 when Jairus's daughter was so ill. He asked Jesus to come heal her. He was afraid. On the way there, another needs healing, the woman with the bleeding disorder. She touches Him by faith knowing she will be healed. After 12 years, she was done worrying. This interruption was long enough for Jairus's daughter to become so ill she died. So the guards come and tell Jairus there's no reason to bother the teacher, she's dead. Overhearing this, Jesus tells Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe." So, I wonder what are the voices Jesus is overhearing in your life? People telling you to handle your situation on your own, people telling you to give up and move on, people telling you there's no point you've been waiting long enough, people telling you you're too old to go back to school, people telling you to give up on that prodigal child… Can you hear Jesus telling you, "Do not fear, only believe."? What is dying in your life so much that others would say it's already dead? A marriage, a dream, a relationship with a loved one, a desire to write a book. What has hurt you so bad that you feel dead inside? Jesus is still restoring and redeeming. Do not fear, only believe.
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