Leg 1 Day 38 - Life Along the Way

Leg 1 Day 38

BELIEVING WITHOUT SEEING

Jesus With Us

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Scripture:

Luke 4:16-32 (NIV)

Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Life Lessons from Jesus:

The phrase “seeing is believing” is common for a reason. It’s easiest to trust what we can perceive with our own two eyes. The royal official in this passage was desperate to bring Jesus to his house before his son died—but Jesus sent him back alone with only the promise that his boy would live. Jesus didn’t need to be present to heal. His power was greater than that. All He wanted in return was faith—in this case, large faith: faith in what the man couldn’t see. Jesus’s words weren’t much for the man to grab hold of, but he believed anyway, right away. And the second he believed, his son’s health at home began to improve. When the man realized this and told others about it, the people around him began to believe. Jesus asks us to have faith. He asks us to believe that He is working even when we can’t see the changes. He doesn’t need a grand stage or to show up in the flesh to perform miracles in our lives. We just need to have faith that they’re going to happen—and then the people around us may begin to believe as well.

The WAY:

Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:

How would you describe the faith of the father in this passage?

Have you ever witnessed something that you considered to be miraculous? What occurred in that circumstance?

When has the Lord answered a prayer of yours in a way that was surprising, immediate, or obvious?

Prayer:

Jesus, thank You for this incredible example of true faith. Sometimes You work in small or slow ways. Help me to have faith that You are working even when I can’t see it. In Your name, amen.

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