“When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.”

Mark‬ ‭5:39-42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

One of my absolute favorite Christmas movies is the Santa Clause. Have you seen it? Judy, the elf, says something so profound that has stuck with me since childhood. She said, “seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.” I must say, it wasn’t until I grew deeper in my faith that I actually understood this. I believe in God because I have seen His awesomeness, His wonders, His goodness; not because I have physically seen Him. 

What I love about the story of Jairus’ daughter is that there are so many lessons to be learned from it. One of the most important is Jesus’ reaction to the crowd’s ridicule when He said the child was only sleeping. They doubted His power. That sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it? When we’re praying for situations that look impossible, we try to have faith, but doubt has a way of creeping in. It distracts us from having the radical faith necessary for God to move. The kind like the woman with the issue of blood or Abraham when he took Isaac up to be sacrificed.

What did Jesus do with the doubters? He put them out and created an atmosphere conducive to healing. What is the atmosphere of your heart? What does Jesus have to put out in order for something to be raised up? Once Jesus put the crowd out, He healed the child.

Miracles can only happen in the right atmospheres. We must learn to put doubt out! We have to be willing to have crazy faith! The kind of faith that is based on God’s reputation. Think about it. The same God that brought the Israelites out of Egypt is the same God that provided manna that just fell from Heaven. The Bible says “look to the birds, they neither sow nor reap, yet our Heavenly Father provides for them. Are you not more valuable than they?” We are the only creatures that God actually breathed His breath into when He created us. Do you really think anything is too hard or impossible for Him to do for His children? Definitely not! So Elf Judy was right—believing is, indeed, seeing. 

Ready to be amazed? 

Xoxo