Just Believe

I love journalling, I've always journalled. Writing down my thoughts, my feelings, prayers, anything really. But sometimes it can take a bit of motivation to really sit down and journal from the Bible. Read scripture and nut it out. But the rewards are worth it. God speaks through His Word without fail. I wanted to share something I read and what I got out of it.

Mark 5 vs 36:
Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid, just believe".

So the story goes, that this synagogue ruler, had travelled to find Jesus to ask him to heal his dying daughter. Jesus we assume, says yes, because He went with the ruler and began heading to his house. They're interrupted when a lady who has been bleeding for 12 years, reaches out with simple belief, and touches the hem of Jesus' garment, and is instantly healed. I won't go into that part here, but it's an awesome story too. So by now, some men bring news that the ruler's daughter has died. 'Don't bother coming', they say. They are telling Jesus and this father that it is too late and nothing can be done. How heartbreaking must that have been for the man. He had sought Jesus out, but it had taken too long, and his daughter had died. But then Jesus says this, "Don't be afraid, just believe'. He ignored the unbelief of the messengers, he ignored the circumstances, and simply said 'believe'.
I think so often, we put too much belief in the world and our circumstances, and too little in Jesus. We forget that He is operating from the Heavenly realms, and is not confined by circumstances. We forget that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. We forget that victory has been given to us. I look at this one little verse, these words that came out of Jesus' mouth, and I ask myself, why on earth do I live any other way? Why on earth do I allow this world and my circumstances to dictate my life so much? When I can simply believe? Knowing that my God is more powerful than anything on this earth, more powerful than any situation I will ever encounter? When my Saviour died on the cross, and defeated Satan and death by coming back to life 3 days later? Hello!
We don't get healed right away, or the problem comes back, we have no money in the bank, not enough to get by, people tell us 'don't bother, it's impossible' and our dreams and ideas come crashing down, we listen to the lies of Satan, and we look at our circumstances and sit in defeat. But Jesus is telling us, "Don't be afraid, just believe". Jesus is telling us, "I am here, I am with you, I know the circumstances, I know what people are saying, I know what it looks like. But none of that matters, ignore it all and just believe. Keep your eyes on me, and believe". It's as simple as that. Now, the thing in this story, is that Jesus had already decided to go with the ruler to heal his daughter. Along the way, he was held up, and the girl died. But because Jesus had already determined to heal this young girl, He wasn't going to let a little thing called death stop Him!
So what I get out of this is that if God has spoken something to your heart, if He has made you a promise, He will keep His word, not matter what comes along in between, no matter the obstacles, no matter the interruptions or the circumstances. God is above it all. If God has said He will do something, HE WILL DO IT! All he asks of us is to just keep believing. Fear has no place in our life (God has given us a spirit of love, not of fear or timidity).

I pray that next time we hit a block in the road, next time we're told we can't do it, next time we don't have enough money, etc...I pray that you and I can both stop, turn our eyes to Jesus, let go of our fear, and "just believe".