Jairus’ faith must have grown stronger with each step he and Jesus took towards his house—Jesus would not follow him, if his daughter would not be healed. All went well as they drew closer to his house, until someone interrupted the journey. There was a woman in the crowd that followed Jesus. It is not that it was unusual for a woman to have  been part of His followers; It is just that the woman in question was just as much in need of help from Jesus as Jairus was. She had defied all odds to get to Jesus. Yet she did not intend to call His attention to her desperate need, but rather to just touch His garment, as a point of contact for her healing. She succeeded, thank God! However, her hopes to go unnoticed after her experience of Divine healing were dashed; Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” (Lk 8:45), and insisted to see who had done it. Eventually, the woman presented herself to Jesus and told Him how she had received her healing when she touched His clothes. In response, Jesus commended her faith.
    The episode with the woman in question took a while, probably during which, Jairus’ daughter died. However, information about the tragedy reached him in the following words : “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” (Lk 8:49). The NIV renders it thus : “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” Note the expression “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” We shall return to it later. However, one of the lessons this account teaches about faith in God, is that it will be tested : “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” (1Pet 1:7). The outcome of genuine faith brings praise, honour, and glory to God, as Jesus Christ is revealed in that situation. Hence, faith is tried to prove its authenticity and worth.
    Delay is one form which the trial of faith takes. It is evident that the interaction between Jesus and the woman with the issue of blood, caused a delay in the journey to the house of Jairus. Though God is never late, He is hardly as  early as we usually want Him to be. Imagine the probable mental conversation Jairus had with himself while the exchange went on. “Could Jesus have forgotten the urgency of my daughter’s condition?” He may have wondered. “Oh! Thank God she is well now, can we get on with the journey already? ” He might have added. Suffice it to say that we are all familiar with such non-verbal exchanges. Nevertheless, Jesus was unperturbed. God does not share in our urgency-induced anxieties. He is Lord over time.
    Contradiction is another form the trial of faith takes. The generally understood implication of Jesus’ going with Jairus was to heal his daughter and keep her from dying. However, she died. What a contradiction! Many times, on the journey of faith, things get worse before they get better. It is reminiscent of what happened after God had sent Moses to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt : the Egyptian slave masters had provided the Israelite workmen with straw for each day’s quota. However, when Moses demanded that Pharaoh let them go, the king of Egypt commanded the slave masters to stop providing the Israelites with straw, but to require the same quota of work every day. Thank God, however, for their eventual deliverance from slavery.  The fact that Jairus’ daughter’s case had deteriorated beyond the limits of human possibility is captured in the following words : “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.”” (Lk 8:49 NIV). “Don’t bother the teacher any more” implied that the case was closed, and that nothing more could be done to help his daughter. Death is an irreversible phenomenon for which mankind has no remedy. “But… “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”” (Lk 18:27).
       Knowing how much damage that information could do to Jairus’ faith, Jesus addressed him : “But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.””(Lk 8:50). “Only believe” is all that God asks of us when we face the test of our faith. This requires that we accept, retain and act on the the report of the Lord, regardless of the facts (Isa 53:1). In as much as we should not deny the facts, we should not let them supplant God’s word as our unchanging reality.  As we obey Him, His unmistakable promise is that whatever ‘she’ represents to us will be made well. Sometimes, God allows the devil to do his worst before He steps in and reverses the ugly trend.
    In as much as the trial of faith for Jairus had been severe, it was not finished yet, because ridicule is also a form of the test of faith. When you decide to trust in God in spite of contradictory circumstances, more often than not, you will be ridiculed by those who do not understand your illogical behaviour. That was what happened when Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus : “Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.” (Lk 8:52-53). Though their facts were correct, the truth Himself had overruled them. No wonder the Bible tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not to lean on our understanding (Prov 3:5). It is a good thing that Jairus did not let the ridicule from his family, friends and neighbours deter him from following Jesus to the end. Like Jesus, we should learn to put all who do not believe what God has clearly revealed ‘outside’ (and not let their unbelief dampen our Spirit-inspired conviction). It important to remember that faith is a spiritual force and not a mere intellectual concept. What was the outcome of Jairus’ faith? The Bible tells us : “Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.” (Lk 8:55). Hallelujah! Therefore, let us hold on to God’s word, relentlessly, by only believing. Shalom.