Week 2 | Day 1 | Faith in Jesus
Command:
“Do not be afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:36 (NKJV)Mark 5:36 (NKJV)
Read:
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:36 (NKJV)
Reflect:
As I stood on the very edge of the airplane ready to skydive, doubts and fear came in - rapid fire - causing a tsunami-like anxiety wave over my whole being. Fortunately, this was a tandem jump. I was securely hooked in with my seasoned jump partner who has sky dived out of a plane a thousand times. Rather than abort the jump and return back to the plane, I decided to place my trust in my jump partner and override my anxious thoughts as my feet gently lifted away from the plane. As the parachute opened, my doubts and fears were replaced with this sense of security. My partner’s calming words and supportive presence was with me all along as I floated 13,000 feet in the sky.
To have faith is to release trust in oneself and to place that trust in another. Trust is to believe. The Apostle Mark records Jesus’ miracles over disease, nature, the forces of evil and even death. In Mark 5:21-43, two remarkable stories of faith occur. First, a woman who was hemorrhaging blood for twelve years took great risk to seek and find Jesus. She touched his garment and was healed. Jesus said to her, “Your faith has made you well.” In the second story, a synagogue leader named Jairus had a twelve-year-old daughter who died. Despite the naysayers, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” Jairus chose to trust Jesus and his daughter was raised back to life.
Faith by itself does not heal. It is on whom we place our faith, Jesus, who heals. Faith in Jesus reveals God’s grace through the power of his love and the power of the cross.
React:
Place your trust in your relationship with Jesus and watch what happens over the course of this year as you follow his ways.
Pray:
Jesus, we place our faith in you as you reveal your love and healing presence to us and in us. Amen.