In John 4:46-54, we see how Jesus deals with someone who initially wants Him to perform magic. Someone who is not a believer: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.”
The royal official that approached Jesus in Cana where our Lord had turned water into wine had a sick son in Capernaum. The man begged Jesus to go and heal his son. This is when Jesus brought the man up short by saying, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The man was looking for Jesus to perform a miracle and to do this by going to the place where his son lay ill.
Jesus then said to him, “Go; your son will live.” He believed the word of Jesus and went on his way to Capernaum. When he arrived he found that at the very hour that Jesus had said to him, “Go; your son will live,” the boy’s fever left him. Now the man and his whole household believed. Jesus did not make the trip to Capernaum, but the boy was healed. He was healed by faith.
So often we try to direct the Lord in our prayers and wishes. We look at healing and other needs through our own eyes and not through God’s eyes. We are sometimes too specific in our prayer and lay out the details of the work that we want God to perform. We predetermine which outcomes that we will accept. We pray, but we lack faith. We think that Jesus must make the trip to Capernaum in order for the boy to be healed. We look for “signs and wonders” so that our belief can be confirmed.
Jesus saw that the man loved his son enough to humble himself and beg Jesus to heal the boy. The man was a royal official of much higher social and political ranking than Jesus. He believed that Jesus could heal his son. This belief was all that he needed. He did not need to presume anything other than this. Jesus did not need to go to the boy. He simply said, “Go; your son will live.”
And I pray: ‘Father God, I pray that I will trust You in all things for I know You are my source. I know that it is not for me to determine life or death, wellness or sickness, wealth or poverty. I must simply believe in Your grace and power in my life knowing that Your kingdom will come and that Your will be done. Even in death, I must accept and believe. My belief is all that I need. AMEN.’
