"(39) Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping. (40) And they ridiculed Him "
Mark 5:21-43. NKJV
Wherever you go, there will always be at least one person who will ridicule your display of faith. You see, the devil is the author of lies, deceit and ridicule. He has come as a thief to try to, steal, kill and destroy whatever God is doing. (John 10:10). So it is understandable that he will use who he can to cast doubt, humiliation and intimidation on what God is leading you to do. Just stop and think for a moment, you will have met at least one of these people. The devil uses them to rob people of their faith.
In this passage, we see three examples of this in action. Firstly, in verse 31, we read, 'But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitudes thronging You and You say, Who touched me?' Now this brings it home to us, even the ones we trust and associate with, may bring doubt to what you're doing. The disciples were not deliberately trying to rob Jesus of His faith, not at all; but through their logical reasoning, they were doubting Jesus had read the situation properly. People that we're close to may do this to you. They may be genuinely in covenant with you, but they still try to convince you that you have it wrong. Take Jesus' example. He ignored the doubt and did what He had to do; and the woman was healed.
Again in verse 35, we see Jairus waiting for Jesus to come to heal his daughter. Suddenly, some people from his house, come telling him not to bother Jesus any longer, his daughter had died. This had the power to totally destroy Jairus. Jesus seeing this, said to him, 'Do not be afraid, only believe.' In other words, don't listen to the robbers of faith - trust Me.
Finally in verses 39-40, we see the professional mourners outside of Jairus' house, ridiculing Jesus because He had told them that the young girl was sleeping, not dead. One can almost hear them laughing and sniggering at such a statement. However, this didn't stop Jesus, He went into the house after clearing out all of the doubters, and raised the young girl back to life. Note that Jesus would not have doubters around Him as He performed this miracle. They were already laughing at Him; to attempt to do ministry in such circumstances, would have been difficult.
You too, if not already, will come up against the doubters - the robbers of your faith. Do not let them intimidate you. They use very convincing words and if you're not careful, they will make you feel inadequate and you'll lose all of your confidence. Don't let them do this. You have a ministry. You may not be a leader in a church but Jesus has given you a commission. Fulfill it, despite the comments that come against you. Refuse the intimidation; you do not need their approval because you have God's. That's all you need, so do what he has called you to do.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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