Just Believe

While Jesus is still talking to the woman who was just healed from her bleeding, He overhears someone from Jairus’ house saying that Jairus’ daughter has died. This moment feels a lot like the story of Lazarus—both times, Jesus waits until after the person has been declared dead before going to them. With Lazarus, though, He waits four whole days, which is a big deal in Jewish tradition. People believed the soul stuck around for three days after death, so by the fourth day, it was considered totally impossible to bring someone back (John 11:6). It’s like Jesus is gradually showing the full range of His power—this time, He only waits until right after the girl passes away.

The word “believe” here comes from the Greek pisteuō, which basically means “to be convinced something is true.” That’s a big ask. Sure, people had been raised from the dead before, but those stories were from way back in the Old Testament. Even though Jairus is a synagogue leader, there’s no clear reason to think his young daughter is someone God would bring back to life. It would take serious faith.

Throughout Jesus' ministry, faith is like a channel for God's power to flow. The woman with the bleeding condition had so much faith that she was healed just by touching Jesus’ clothes—He didn’t even have to say or do anything in that moment. On the flip side, when Jesus goes back to His hometown, the people’s lack of faith actually keeps Him from doing miracles like He did in other places (Mark 6:1–6).

That’s still true for us today. Faith is essential if we want to see God at work in our lives. It doesn’t have to be huge (Luke 17:6), but it does need to be pointed in the right direction (Hebrews 11:6) and keep going even when things are tough (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Our faith also needs the right motivation. It’s not biblical to have “faith” that God will just give us everything we want—like money, success, or perfect health (James 4:2–3). What God promises is to give us what we need to do His will. If our hearts are aligned with His, and we care about what He cares about, we’ll be content with what He gives us (John 15:7).

And it’s okay to feel let down when things don’t go the way we hoped. God can handle our disappointment. What matters is that we keep our ultimate hope anchored in Him (1 Peter 1:3).