Do Not Be Afraid, Only Believe — What Jairus Teaches Us About Worry

I'm excited to keep going in this series, because today I want to show you two moments where Jesus was standing in front of the worst possible news, and He responded the exact same way both times.

Worry is a choice, not an obligation — even when it looks justified

Jairus, a synagogue ruler, risked his entire reputation to find Jesus because his daughter was dying. On the way, the crowd delayed them, and a messenger arrived with the worst possible update.

“But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.’”

Luke 8:50 (NKJV)

If there was ever a moment that seemed to justify fear, this was it. His daughter had just been pronounced dead. And Jesus's response wasn't sympathy for the fear — it was an instruction to refuse it.

You cannot worry about something you refuse to fear

Here's something worth sitting with: worry cannot exist without fear underneath it. If you're not afraid of how something turns out, there's nothing left to worry about.

Worry is what happens when you've let the words of this world get sown into you instead of the Word of God — and somewhere along the way, made the decision to believe those words over His. That's not a comfortable thing to hear, but it's true.

Whatever is speaking to you right now that contradicts what Jesus has said — a bank account, a diagnosis, someone's bad news about your situation — you get to respond the same way Jairus was told to respond: I will not be afraid. I will believe. I choose to believe Jesus.

Martha was right to be concerned. Jesus still called it what it was.

Martha welcomed Jesus into her home and got busy serving him, while her sister Mary sat at His feet listening. Martha felt fully justified in her frustration — she went straight to Jesus and asked why He didn't care that she'd been left to do all the work alone.

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Luke 10:41-42 (NKJV)

Notice Jesus didn't argue that Martha's tasks weren't real or that her frustration wasn't understandable. He simply named what was actually happening inside her: worried and troubled about many things. Feeling justified in your worry has never made it harmless.

One thing is needed — and it isn't more effort

Mary chose time with Jesus and His Word over the urgency of the moment, and Jesus said that choice wouldn't be taken from her. That's worth noticing, because most of us assume the answer to an urgent problem is more activity, not more time in the Word.

Worry has become so normalized that most churches would never think to address it the way they'd address other struggles. But Jesus named it directly, both to a grieving father and a frustrated host, in the same clear terms.

You get to make this decision today, regardless of how socially acceptable worry has become: I am not going to worry about anything. I am going to trust Jesus, sow His Word into the situation in front of me, and let it do what it was always meant to do.

Fight To Win.