Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 143:8
Lord, let this morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I put my trust in you.
Amen.
Reading
After spending two days in the Samaritan village – no doubt helping many to come home to God and teaching them how to live as citizens of the Kingdom – Jesus left and travelled back to His home province, Galilee.
Word travelled that Jesus was back, and when He entered Cana, where he had turned water into wine, Jesus was met by a royal official. This man, serving some important function in Herod’s household, had travelled about 45km from Capernaum just to find Jesus. His son was terminally ill and, desperate for a cure, this important man had cast convention and pride aside and had come to seek help from a humble, travelling rabbi named Jesus.
I’m not sure why Jesus’ first response was to say, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.’ Some have suggested that Jesus was probing to determine this man’s true motive. I am more inclined to think that Jesus was speaking more to the crowd overhearing the conversation than to the man himself, and that he was preparing them to see this man’s faith in action. Here was a man who already believed in Jesus and His healing power long before he saw any evidence. Otherwise, why would he have come this far?
Responding to Jesus’ statement, the man quickly revealed that his only motive was love for his son, and that his faith was already firmly in Jesus to perform this miracle. We know this because the moment Jesus told him, ‘Go, your son will live,’ the man took Jesus at his word and departed. He did not try again to persuade Jesus to come with him. He did not insist that Jesus should lay hands on his son or anoint him. He just received Jesus’ word and left in faith. And, of course, he was met along the way with the good news that his son was healed!
What does this say to us today? That true faith is found in taking Jesus at His word, and stepping out in obedience to Him even before we have any tangible evidence. True faith is trusting the Lord Jesus enough to act on what He calls and commands us to do, even when we don’t fully understand.
What is Jesus calling you to do today?
Will you live in obedience to Jesus and His Word, whatever the situation and no matter the apparent lack of evidence?
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will take Jesus at His Word.
- I will step out and obey Him regardless of the presence or absence of any “evidence”.
Lord Jesus, I believe in You. Please strengthen my faith by the Holy Spirit’s presence and ministry in me, and empower me to obey. Amen.
Dave's Diary 
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