Are you part of a fall Bible study group? I am about to start an in depth study of the book of John so yesterday I spent the day reading it straight through like a novel. I asked the Lord to reveal new things to me about Himself and about His Word.
I paused at chapter 4:46-54. If you aren’t familiar with the story, it is when Jesus was in Cana in Galilee and He was approached by a royal official. He begged Jesus to go to Capernaum and heal his son who was deathly ill. We aren’t told if the man was Jewish or not, but he sought healing from Jesus.
Jesus got a bit frustrated and said, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.” I don’t know about you, but it made me feel a little better to see even Jesus got frustrated with people from time to time. It was obvious by His words He wasn’t angry with this official, just frustrated. Then He told the official “Your son will live.” The next sentence is the one that jumped off the page at me. The man took Jesus at His word and departed.
The Bible is the Word of God. The promises in the Bible are Jesus’ promises, yet we don’t lay claim to them. We cry out in our struggles and wonder why Jesus doesn’t answer us. Could it be because He already has and we’ve just refused to believe and take Him at His word?
You may say “How would I know?” Spend time in the Word. Get to know it well so when the problems and trials come your way, you know the answer before the question even forms in your mind. Through knowledge of the Word of God we gain great peace…the peace that surpasses understanding [Philippians 4:7]. Then we can go down in history as one who took Jesus at His word.