Dave's Diary

Prayer

Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer from Psalm 119:88

In your unfailing love, Lord, preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.
Amen.

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your awareness to the voice of God, coming to you through His Word.

Reading

Matthew 9:27-31 

It seems such a strange command from Jesus: ‘See that no one knows about this.’  (v.30)

The two blind men in today’s account had tremendous persistence in their desire to receive a miracle from Jesus, and they had admirable faith that Jesus could heal them. Yet sadly, they disobeyed Him in the one thing He demanded of them.

As I reflected on this reading I found myself asking why Jesus would have commanded them not to tell others about the incredible miracle He had just done in their lives. Was it because opposition was building against Him and He wanted to avoid the attention of the religious rulers? Was it because He did not want to attract a crowd that would only follow Him for the sake of His miracles and not out of a serious commitment to His teaching?

The more I tried to discern the reason for Jesus’ command, the less I felt I understood it. And then it occurred to me that this was most likely the experience of the blind men too. They were so excited. They were bursting to let others know about the astounding miracle they had just received. They had a testimony! They had been the centre of Jesus’ attention and now, with this testimony, they could be the centre of attention just about everywhere they went! Everything within them longed to tell others. And they honestly could not see any good reason for Jesus’ command.

And yet, the One who had so graciously granted them this life-changing miracle had commanded them not to speak about it. They knew this was what He wanted, but even after all He had done for them, they could not offer Him this one simple act of obedience! They could not love Him more than they loved the miracle. They could not make it all about Him and not about the drama and attention. They could not make it all about Him and not about His benefits! They could not bring themselves to trust that Jesus knew best and that they owed Him this tiny act of obedience through silence. So they disobeyed, and “they went out and spread the news about him all over that region” (v.31).

I think we can deduce from this passage that there may be times in our lives when Jesus commands us something that will not make sense to us logically. There will be times when the Spirit within us convicts us to remain silent or inactive, while everything within us longs to say or do something – anything.

In moments like these, our faith will be tested just as much as when we are “trusting for a miracle”. Can we trust Jesus enough to obey Him lovingly, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense?

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn this declaration over in your mind. Keep it in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ: 

• I will obey Him, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense in the moment.

Holy Spirit, please allow me to hear the call of Jesus clearly. Please help me to surrender to His loving will. And please help me to obey, even when His will seems to make no sense . Amen.