I love the way Mark’s gospel jumps from one thing to the next with barely a space to take a breath. Today we have 3 miracles one after the other. A man possessed by a legion of demonic spirits, a woman suffering from a long-term medical condition and a you girl on the very brink of death. They are all very different manifestations of the extraordinary power that Jesus carried – a large scale exorcism, a major healing miracle and a resurrection one after the other, all effortlessly executed in front of many witnesses.

The thing that I find most fascinating is the belief that surrounds each of these incidents. The man who was living under demonic oppression found himself in the presence of the Son of God. Suddenly all the spiritual stuff that had plagued him for so long was exposed by the presence of Jesus – the ‘Light of the World’ was shining into his darkest places exposing everything that was hidden – the man couldn’t help but believe he was in the presence of God and the demons didn’t have a chance!

Then we have Jairus whose daughter was dying. He was desperate, he wanted to see his daughter healed, he wanted to believe that Jesus could do that. Even when he was told it was too late Jesus told him not to surrender that belief (v.36). She was given new life.

Then there was the woman who had been haemorrhaging for 12 years. Because her illness involved blood loss she was considered unclean, she had become a pariah, an outcast nobody would want to be near. She needed to believe that Jesus was everything He claimed to be so she set out to find him with a determination that would not be swayed.

All of them were healed. Nobody missed out because there was some kind of faith for each of them. One because the Light of Christ exposed the darkness, one because of sheer determination and one borne of desperation.

What does it take for us?

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Action:

Examine yourself today. Ask what is that drives me to have faith. Press into that need for something more and don’t let it go!

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come and fall on us. Expose the things in us that are hidden in our darkest recesses, stir up our desperation for more of You and bless us with determination to press in for more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.