Delays Don't Mean Denial
Pastor Caleb Culver
June 21, 2026 Message Recap
John tells us that the Gospels were not written simply to record history.
They were written so that we might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we would have life in His name.
That means every miracle, every conversation, and every encounter with Jesus is more than an event from the past: they’re invitations to trust Him today. The story of Jairus is one of those invitations.
Jairus was used to being in charge. As a ruler of the synagogue, he organized the readings, oversaw worship, and kept everything in order. He was respected, and his opinion carried weight, yet his life was built on competence and control.
Then his daughter got sick, and none of that was enough
When Jairus heard Jesus was nearby, he knew there was only one place left to go. He pushed through the crowd, fell at Jesus' feet, and pleaded with Him to come heal his little girl. A man of his position did not kneel, and he certainly did not beg.
Desperation has a way of stripping away everything we hide behind, and it reveals what we truly believe.
When every other source of security fails, we finally see where our hope has been all along.
Jesus responded immediately, and he went with Jairus—but the answer to Jairus' prayer did not come as quickly as he hoped. On the way, Jesus stopped to care for another woman who had been suffering for twelve years. Imagine what Jairus must have been feeling.
Every second mattered.
Every delay must have felt unbearable.
Then the worst news arrived.
His daughter had died.
The servants told him not to bother Jesus anymore; if there was ever a moment to lose hope, this was it. But Jesus turned to Jairus and said, "Do not fear; only believe." Jesus didn’t tell Jairus to feel certain, or tell him what He was about to do. He simply told him to trust.
Most of us think faith is certainty. We believe that if we trust hard enough, the outcome we want will eventually come.
But biblical faith is deeper than confidence in an outcome. It is loyalty to a Person.
Jesus did not ask Jairus to wait outside while He raised the little girl. He invited him into the room.
Jairus had to walk into the very place where all his fears had become reality. He stood beside the bed of the daughter he believed he had lost.
Jesus could have done the miracle without him, but instead, He brought him with Him. This is an incredible picture of how Jesus often works in our lives.
He doesn’t simply fix our deepest wounds from a distance. He walks with us into them.
He leads us into the places we have spent so much energy avoiding—the grief we have never fully faced, the disappointment we never brought to Him, the questions we are afraid to ask.
Faith does not make those rooms any less painful; it just means we never have to enter them alone.
Scripture References:
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About Radiant Church
Founded in 1996, Radiant Church has grown into a multi-location church committed to biblical teaching, discipleship, and mission.
At Radiant Church, there is an invitation to grow in your spiritual journey, build meaningful community, and truly get connected. We are passionate about helping people grow in faith, encounter the Presence of God, and become part of a church grounded in Spirit and truth.
Here's a 5-day devotional guide based on this sermon:
Day 1: Bringing Your Need to Jesus
Mark 5:21–23 | James 4:10
Jairus was a man with a reputation to protect. Coming to Jesus publicly and falling at his feet would have cost him socially. But his daughter was dying, and nothing else mattered. Desperation has a way of clearing away the things we hide behind and leaving us with just the need. James tells us God gives grace to the humble. The first step of faith is not certainty. It is the willingness to bring what we are carrying to the only One who can actually do something about it.
Day 2: Trusting God in the Delay
Mark 5:24–34 | Psalm 27:13–14
Jesus stopped on the way to Jairus' house to minister to a woman who had been suffering for twelve years. For Jairus, every second counted. The delay must have felt unbearable. But a delay from Jesus is not a denial from Jesus. Sometimes his timing does not match our urgency, and that gap is exactly where trust gets formed. The Psalm tells us to wait for the Lord and to take heart. It does not say the waiting will feel easy. It says it will be worth it.
Day 3: When the News Breaks Your Heart
Mark 5:35–36 | Isaiah 41:10
"Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" Those words must have landed like a blow. And Jesus, hearing them, looked at Jairus and said: Do not fear, only believe. He was not dismissing the pain. He was speaking to something underneath it. Fear and faith were both present in Jairus at that moment, and Jesus called the faith forward. Scripture does not promise we will be spared from heartbreak. It promises we will not face it alone.
Day 4: The Object of Our Faith
Hebrews 11:1–3 | John 11:25
Faith is not certainty in an outcome. It is trust in a Person. The New Testament word for faith carries the ideas of trust and loyalty together. It was a word used to describe close friendship and fidelity in marriage. That kind of faith does not need everything to make sense. It just needs to hold on to Jesus when it does not. It is not the strength of your faith that saves you. It is the One your faith is resting on.
Day 5: Walking Into the Room
Mark 5:37–43 | Isaiah 43:2
Jesus did not go into the room alone. He brought the father with him. He could have sent Jairus to wait outside. Instead, he said, "Come.” Jesus does not lead us around our deepest pain. He leads us through it, and he walks every step with us. When he speaks in that room, he calls the girl by a pet name, little lamb, arise. That is the tenderness of a father with the authority of a king. And what looked like an ending became a beginning.