21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him….  Mark 5:21-24

He had spent his entire life learning and working to acquire the position he had. He was well respected. People listened to him. Life seemed pretty straightforward for Jairus until his daughter fell deathly sick. The illness didn’t respect his position in the synagogue. It didn’t care that he had spent years studying and learning the things of God. Instead, it gradually began to claim the life of his beloved child, disrespecting any of his desires.

We don’t know Jairus’ opinion about Jesus before this story. The party line seemed to villainize Jesus as a threat to the Jewish faith. Desperation got the better of him, so he decided to go to Jesus. He had heard stories of healing and needed healing for his family. Was it faith that caused him to turn to Jesus? It was more likely some hope that things could be different. He had no idea how his hope would rise, fall, and ultimately be fulfilled, but hope drove him to speak to Jesus.

You don’t need a vast faith to start interacting with Jesus. All you need is a bit of hope mixed with a whole lot of longing. What is it that you wish or hope that Jesus could heal? This story isn’t a promise of a perfect outcome; I’m sure Jairus would have preferred not to endure his daughter’s death prior to Jesus’ solution. No, this story is a promise that Jesus is the right person to bring our last threads of hope. Bring it to him. And maybe you need to bring it to him again. Don’t let go of Jesus, because regardless of his answer, he is the only one who can raise the dead to life again!