Only Believe

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

Mark 5:36 KJV

Accept what is, let go of what was, have faith in what will be.

Often we only see the impossibility of a present situation. Because of this natural tendency, the Savior emphasized during His earthy ministry that we should replace fear with faith. Since fear is synonymous with afraid, then one can explore different options for fear. Remember the term “fear” can also mean profound reverence of God. In other words, one can easily reverence God for your situation instead of fearing the situation if you exercise faith when you become afraid. The Savior has more authority over your situation than you realize.

For this reason, Luke writes about Jairus’ experience with the Savior amid the crowd and the ordeal of a woman with a blood disease. Because the group constantly demanded and the delay when the diseased woman touched His garment, Jairus’ request seemed impossible with these delays as they traveled to his sick daughter. These delays elevated the daughter’s sickness to death which made Jairus' situation even more impossible. When Jairus received this news, he became fearful and wanted to stop troubling the Master. Yet, when the Savior heard the news, He quickly informed Jairus to be not afraid, only believe. You can restate this comment as “Don’t yield to fear, accept the facts, but don’t linger with disbelief.”  Because Jairus continued with the Savior, he witnessed a marvelous miracle. The Savior returned life to a 12-year-old dead girl. Likewise, the Savior can restore life when our situation seems hopeless. The remedy is to accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be. Although we are living in a pandemic, the fact remains that we must replace fear with faith by revering God. A brighter future will appear if we replace fear with faith. Remember, be not afraid only believe.