In the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark there is a story about one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus, and his daughter who was very ill. Like any parent facing a crisis with their child, Jairus was searching for any possible way to save his little girl from death. When his daughter failed to recover, and Jairus had probably been told, “There is nothing more we can do,” out of desperation, Jairus sought Jesus. He must have believed if he could somehow get Jesus to lay hands on her, not only would her life be spared, but he would also be spared the pain of losing her. He needed Jesus to do what no one else had been able to do; heal his daughter.

Jairus was a desperate man. Fear must have been consuming him. Have you ever found yourself in a crisis, consumed by fear, desperate for help? When Jairus was faced with his crisis, he went searching for Jesus. Have you searched for Jesus?

Jairus’ steps towards Jesus were full of faith and purpose and “when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly”(Mark 5:22) to come with him. Jairus wasn’t afraid to ask Jesus to come with him, nor was he intimated by the crowds; he simply fell at his feet and begged Jesus to come. And “Jesus went with him…”(vs. 24). Have you fallen at the feet of Jesus and begged Him earnestly to come with you back to the place where your crisis dwells?

Jairus began the walk with Jesus “… and a great multitude followed Him …” (vs. 24). Jesus and Jairus didn’t begin the journey alone; others followed. Invite those around you to walk beside you as you journey, with Jesus, towards the healing of your crisis. Ask others to join you in prayer, seeking Him on your behalf.

And then the true test of faith came as they were on their way and Jesus encounters a woman seeking healing from her own issue which caused a delay in reaching the daughter. It was “while He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further’” (Mark 5:35, NKJV)? Can you imagine the pain that sliced through Jairus’ heart from hearing those words? She is dead. You are too late. Why bother? I wonder if Jairus was thinking, “Why did You stop, Jesus? If we had just hurried, maybe we could have saved her.” While we are on our journey with Jesus to the healing place of our crisis, Jesus might have us stop along the way to help others who are in a crisis of their own. It’s ok. God is not concerned that He will be too late. Ever. He is always right on time.

Words that stung. Words that crushed. Words Jairus had tried to prevent from his hearing came flooding into his ears. She is dead. But, “as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe’” (vs.36). Jesus heard the words of “some” too, but He spoke differently to Jairus. He told Jairus to not fear, but believe. Maybe this is what Jairus heard in the words of Jesus; “Don’t fear what you have heard, just believe in Me.” “Believe in my power.” “Believe in the One, standing next to you; the One that you came earnestly seeking the healing from.” Maybe these words are the ones Jesus wants us to hear when we are facing our own crisis and others speak words of death over our situation. Words like; “Why are you bothering Jesus with this prayer?” “Why are you still trusting God to heal this situation; why can’t you just move on?” Wow. I am forced to ask myself how many victories have been stolen from me because I heard “dead”, gave in to doubt and then quit walking with Jesus to the place where the resurrection would happen.

It was at this moment that Jesus “permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James” (vs. 37). He hushed the voices that believed what they heard- death had won, and took with Him those who had the faith to believe He wasn’t done yet. As time marches on and what we see with our natural eyes speaks death rather than life, we need to grab on to the three people around us that have the faith Peter, James and John had. They had the faith to continue the walk to Jairus’ house because they knew what Jesus was capable of. Who has the faith to walk with you all the way to the house because they understand what Jesus can do?

When Jesus arrived at the house, He was greeted by grief and ridiculed when He told them the girl was not dead, she was asleep, but “He took the child by the hand, and said to her, ‘Talitha, cumi,’ which is translated, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’” (vs. 41). There will be those around us who will grieve over our crisis; they will grieve what appears to be dead. There will be some who will ridicule our belief that God’s not dead and God’s not done, but just like those in the room of the little girl were “overcome with great amazement” when she “arose and walked,” maybe those who grieve and ridicule will do the same.

Several years ago I sought Jesus in desperation on behalf of a friend whose husband had asked her for a divorce. It was a total shock to both Pat and I, as well as to our family. This was a divorce no one saw coming. The husband had been involved in an affair and decided to choose the mistress over the family. I met Jesus, “fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly” to save this marriage. Pat and I confronted the man, comforted the wife and consoled the kids while continually crying out to the Lord for healing and restoration. And when the divorce was final and he remarried, we quit. We gave it a good shot, right? It was worth a try, right? His ex-wife believed God wanted to restore her marriage, but eventually she too remarried. But, to this day she still wonders, “what if.” Did we quit praying and believing because everything we saw told us, “it’s dead”? Did we give up before Jesus reached the house? Did distractions along the way make us question the length of time it seemed to take? Did we lack the faith it would take on the journey? Maybe.

Years later I am in a new battle with a friend whose husband has wandered away from his marriage and family. She ran with steps full of faith and purpose, searching for Jesus and fell before Him, begging Him to restore what was dying. There have been distractions and stops along the way, but she continues walking, day by day with Jesus, heading towards the house. She asked others to join her journey and walk with her, and many did. But after hearing words of death, she has chosen a few to continue on the journey with her, as she faithfully listens to Jesus reminding her along the way, "Do not be afraid; only believe” (vs.36). When our eyes see death and words scream dead we must remember one thing.  God’s not. 

Not long after writing a blog titled “Goals or Good Intentions” I read a story in 2 Samuel 10 which caught my eye and caused me to do some serious thinking about how we perceive the intentions of others. How should we respond when our good intentions are met with wrong assumptions? And how can we protect ourselves from making assumptions that may be completely inaccurate? After reading this story, I realized that while I may know what my intentions are, others do not and one small seed of doubt planted within the mind can cause a devastating outcome. 

"It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. Then David said, 'I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.' So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, 'Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?' Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, 'Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.'" (2 Samuel 10: 1-5, NKJV).

The “princes of the people” postulated (How do you like that word? I used my Thesaurus. ;)). They assumed without proof. They took it for granted that David’s intentions were not honest. A decision was made; it would be better to humiliate David’s servants and reject his offer of comfort rather than consider the possibility that his motives and intentions came from the purest of hearts. I wasn’t there, but it appears, a guilty verdict was handed to these men without allowing them the opportunity to present their case. What transpired next? War. And once the Ammorites realized they had offended David they hired the Syrians to go to battle with them. In the end, “…when all the kings serving Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more” (2 Samuel 10:19, AMP).

Let’s use this as an opportunity to learn from the war that began when assumptions were made that were far from the truth. Ask yourself…

How many…

· injuries have we sustained simply because good intentions were misunderstood?

· battle wounds and scars do we carry deep within, because a war began when assumptions 
 were the preferred choice, rather than seeking to know the intentions of the heart? 

· wars have begun because the counsel of others caused us to question the sincerity of another?

· times have we assumed without proof the intentions of those around us?

· others have we pulled in our battle, or “hired” to fight with us, a war based only upon assumptions?

· people are afraid to help you for fear of being pulled into another battle?

Are you battling a war that can be put to rest by laying down an assumption? Maybe it is time to get the facts. Believe me, there have been many times I have been guilty of taking a “supposed” truth for granted. I have also experienced the sting of having my good intentions erroneously misunderstood. I’m not sure when it became easier to believe false assumptions rather than trust good intentions, but I do know who loves to fuel the fire within.

I have an enemy (well, I may have more than one, but this is the one that I am well aware of). Satan. As my enemy, I know for certain that his intentions towards me, along with those around me, are for evil. He is waging a war of destruction especially for those within the church. When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth he explained the reason for his letter was “to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions” (2 Corinthians 2:11, AMP). We must guard ourselves from Satan’s schemes so he never gets the advantage over us. One way we can accomplish this is to keep clear from his trap of making wrong assumptions. He wants us in a war. He wants us bruised and scarred. He wants relationships broken by hurts and misunderstanding. He has no intention of allowing us to believe the best of others. Don’t allow him to have the advantage over you, know what his intentions are in your life, your marriage, your family, your business, your mind, and your health. If you are in a war, make sure you are fighting the right enemy.

“Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]” (1 Corinthians 13:7, AMP).