For the past few days, I have been reading Mark 5 and looking again at the story of Jairus and how Jesus raised his daughter from the dead.

Jairus was one of the rulers of the synagogues and he was also a loving father whose daughter was critically sick to the point of dying. When Jesus saw the situation, his first words were, ‘don’t be afraid; just believe’ (Mark 5:36 NIV) and those simple words brought Jairus reassurance in his total despair. Instead of giving up and walking away in total hopelessness, Jairus did the unthinkable; he continued walking in HOPE, despite the seriousness of the situation. Is there a way we can capture this sense of hope too, in the middle of the situation our world is facing?

If there is a time where people need to walk in HOPE, it’s right now; and for us as believers HOPE is not a wish but the expectation of something good that is about to happen.

Here are some steps that I believe Jairus took, which helped him to experience his breakthrough:   

1) Realisation – Jairus realised the gravity of his situation and he intentionally did something about it. The situation was desperate. His little daughter was not only very sick but she was clearly dying. For me, it’s important that we realise the seriousness of our broken world – but it is also important that we take our fears and worries to Jesus too.

2) Desperation – Jairus became desperate. I’m sure that after having tried everything humanly speaking, he then sought to find Jesus. I think I can understand his pain and frustration as every day when I watch reports from the media, there is only one word which jumps out at me – desperation. Today, can I encourage you – if you feel desperate – to cry out to Jesus. 

3) Attention – Jairus’ desperation caused him to focus his attention on Jesus. In the busyness of life, it can be easy to lose our focus, but there is nothing quite like a crisis to remind us that we cannot do this alone and that we need God’s help in everything we do. If you feel today that you have lost your attention and focus from Jesus, you can turn to him right now. He is the only one who can provide whatever you need in these difficult times.

4) Position – When Jairus found Jesus, ‘he fell at his feet,’ (Mark 5:22 NIV) which was a sign of acknowledging a higher authority, as well as being willing to humble himself. In whatever you are facing, I urge you to approach Jesus and change your position as Jairus did, demonstrating humility and acknowledgement of His authority. Let’s also not forget that as Christians, He has given us the same authority to deal with any situation we face.  

5) Compassion – I love the way that Jairus in his actions and his prayer demonstrated his compassion. You might be wondering, ‘what is the real definition of compassion?’ My own definition is, ‘having the awareness of the needs of others, which prompts a compelling desire to meet their needs’. How great it is to see compassion being displayed by the Church in their own community, with hundreds of thousands of people volunteering to help their neighbours and strangers they have never met before. These people have compassion stirred up within them and now they are going out, to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.

6) Intercession – Jairus did not approach Jesus for himself, but went to stand in the gap on behalf of his much-loved daughter. I am so impressed by many prayer initiatives emerging throughout the UK and around the world at the moment in this challenging season. Let’s continue to stand on behalf of the many who cannot pray for themselves and boldly believe for their salvation, healing and deliverance. Jesus is still the same as He was yesterday, today and forever.

So, let’s accelerate our steps as we realise the urgency of the needs in our world today, by sharpening our focus and changing our position to a position of intercession, standing in the gap for those who cannot pray for themselves as well as demonstrating openly Christ’s compassion through our love in action.