BY GREG CRUM

“While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:35-36

In the most important moment in Jairus’ life, he was faced with a decision. Allow fear to feed doubt and watch his daughter die, or “only believe” and receive the miracle God desired for him. What a choice to be faced with, right? While this situation may have been the extreme because the stakes were so high, at its core, this is a situation we will all have to face at one point or another in our efforts to try to receive what the Lord has provided for us in this life.

We will all be faced with evidence contrary to the promises of God, and then we, like Jairus, will have to choose to “only believe” or to give in and give up. What will you choose? My recommendation to you is this: Do not give up on your faith.

Brothers and sisters, don’t quit on your faith, even if it is not quite where it needs to be to receive at the moment. Do not throw away what you have. It is precious to God and of great value to you, and can grow to meet your current need.

Now, before we go any further, let me say that there are many things promised in God’s Word that we should never have to wait to receive. They are past-tense realities of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Things like forgiveness, peace of mind and heart, comfort, and even a healthy body. These are the benefits of our redemption that should be received now by faith. What I mean is, we do not have to “tarry” to qualify for them, and God is not making us wait a set amount of time for them. With that said, there are times in our walk that our faith is not where it needs to be to receive these things in the “now.” That is on us though, not God.

So, what do we do in these moments when our faith is not at the measure that the situation requires? Well, we definitely do not quit on the faith that we do have; I can tell you that. Rather, we must get bolder and choose to only believe.

Now, if you have been walking with the Lord for a while, you already know that there are times in our lives when we are seeking provision from the Lord and the answer does not come right away. Then fear and doubt try to do their thing and get us to go to plan “B” or to think, “This faith thing doesn’t work for me.”

You know what that is, right? It is a trial of your faith. We do not necessarily like it, but in reality, the trial of our faith can work for our benefit. It is just an opportunity to gather more evidence in our favor and present it to the jury.

The jury? Yeah, our mind and heart. The very components in us that help us to “only believe”.

You see, we “only believe” by doing what forms faith—gathering more evidence in our favor to present to the jury of our hearts. We must convince ourselves through the Scriptures that we can have what God has promised. That includes solidifying in our minds and hearts that we are justified by Christ, and qualified for the promises by His grace and love for us.

What are we doing when we do this? Feeding our faith and choosing to believe beyond the symptoms or the setback. This is that “only” kind of faith that Jairus was commanded to demonstrate, a faith that does not allow doubt to stay in the room.

Brothers and sisters, remember the next time you are dealing with delays or stubborn symptoms and your faith is on trial: Do not give up on the faith you do have. Keep pursuing your answer from God. Build stronger faith with evidence from God’s Word and only believe.

Greg Crum is the pastor at Calvary Temple Church in Lovely.