There are few scenes more heartbreaking than watching a child suffer. Any parent who has stood beside a hospital bed or waited on a doctor’s report knows the fear that steals your breath. As a Pastor, I have sat with families in those moments—faces tight with worry, eyes filled with tears, hope trembling on the edge of despair. And when we imagine our own children in that place, the weight becomes almost unbearable.
This is the world Jairus walked in when he came to Jesus. A synagogue ruler, a man of status and religious authority, Jairus did something unthinkable for someone in his position: he fell at the feet of the very One his colleagues despised. Desperation will make you cross lines you once defended. It will push you past pride, past protocol, past the opinions of people who don’t have to live with your pain.
Jairus reached Jesus—but the situation worsened. News arrived that the little girl had died. The crowd declared it was too late. But Jesus ignored the noise and spoke directly to Jairus’ trembling heart: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Liberation often begins right there—when we stop letting the crowd define what God can do.
Inside the house, the faithless laughed. They could not imagine life where they saw only death. But Jesus was not intimidated by their disbelief. He took the girl by the hand and spoke the words that still echo through every hopeless place: “Talitha koum!”—Little girl, get up. This was not denial of death; it was defiance of it. It was Jesus announcing that no circumstance, no system, no sorrow, no grave has the final word over God.
And He is still speaking those words today. Every time we stumble, every time we lose our way, every time life knocks us flat, Jesus reaches for us. When society counts us out, when our past tries to bury our future, when exhaustion steals our strength, Jesus whispers, “Get up!” His touch restores. His voice revives. His love resurrects.
“Talitha koum!” Rise again. Hope again. Believe again. The same Christ who lifted Jairus’ daughter is lifting you.
(We invite your comments. Feel free to share this devotion with your friends and invite them to subscribe by forwarding their email address to the Pastor at: fredjeffsmith@gmail.com)
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