Just Believe
READ
Imagine two desperate stories crashing together in one incredible moment of intervention. On one side, Jairus—a respected religious leader—is racing against time to save his dying daughter. On the other, an unnamed woman is battling a chronic condition that has stolen twelve years of her life.
Let’s take a moment to read Mark 5:21-43:
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!”(which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
REFLECT
In today’s passage, we witness a powerful display of how God's compassion works through unexpected interruptions. The woman's situation was heartbreaking. According to Jewish law, her chronic bleeding made her perpetually "unclean," forcing her into complete social isolation. She's tried everything—spent all her money on doctors, endured countless treatments—and nothing worked.
But she has one wild, radical idea: "If I just touch his clothes, I'll be healed." It sounds crazy, but her desperation becomes her greatest act of faith. When she touches Jesus' garment, something miraculous happens. Jesus immediately feels power leave Him and turns to find her. Instead of being angry about the interruption, Jesus does something beautiful. He stops everything, looks at her, and says, "Daughter, your faith has healed you." Can you imagine? In front of the crowd, in front of Jairus—who's probably thinking, We don't have time for this!—Jesus celebrates her faith.
Meanwhile, messengers arrive with devastating news for Jairus: his daughter has died. But Jesus offers something unexpected: "Don't be afraid; just believe." When they arrive, Jesus takes the girl's hand and tells her to get up—and she does, completely restored.
Two seemingly impossible situations. Two desperate people. One incredible God who sees, stops, and transforms. This story whispers a powerful truth: No struggle is too big, no interruption is too inconvenient for God's compassion. Your current impossible situation isn't the end of your story. Just like the woman and Jairus' daughter, you're never beyond hope's reach.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where have you been waiting for a breakthrough that seems impossible? How might your deepest desperation be an invitation for radical faith?
What would it look like to trust God in your most challenging moment?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Compassionate God, we bring our impossible situations to You. Where we feel stuck, overlooked, or hopeless, would You meet us with Your transforming love? Give us the courage to believe beyond our circumstances. Remind us that You see us, You hear us, and You're writing a story far bigger than we can imagine. Amen.