Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Mark 5:36 -- On Banishing Fear and Choosing Belief

"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


I'm pretty sure that the phrase "Be not afraid, only believe" could be the theme of our lives.  If we could live each day with more belief and less fear, I feel like all of our lives would improve by a lot.

In this case, Jairus asked Christ to heal his daughter, and on the way some people told him that his daughter was dead.  Similar things happen to us in our lives.  People might say that we can't accomplish something, or we can't change, or they might mock our beliefs or our faith in a promised blessing.  When the criticisms and the doubts come, they can come with a number of things that really scare us as we imagine what life would be like without the promises of God that we trust in.

When those things happen, we don't have to let that fear control us.  When God asks us to be not afraid, and to only believe, he is asking us to focus on him.  He is telling us to have our priorities straight and to put him first... even before fear and doubt.  We don't have time for that... it's just obstructionist delaying of our happiness.  Like Jairus, if we trust God rather than what other people say, things will turn out okay.

I'm not saying that we always get what we want... but I am saying that we always get what God promises.  He doesn't lie.  When he promises us that he can change our hearts, and that he can help us find eternal happiness, he totally can.  It doesn't all happen at once, but it does happen as we trust, follow, and focus on hope in him rather than on the fear from lies of the world.  Today, let's work on that. :)

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