Journey through John 4:46-54

Good Morning Church Family – Journey Through John

Read John 4:46-54

Devo Thought: We live in a culture that is all about growing our brand, getting more followers. How can I create content that will trend on social media? How can I get people to jump on the bandwagon and start to pay attention to me? This interaction between Jesus and the official is interesting to me because Jesus does just the opposite to what you would expect someone trying to gain followers to do. The man comes with a request. If Jesus had immediately said yes and healed the man’s son, a bunch of people would have been interested and would have probably started following Him. However, Jesus curiously says, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” I believe this is what I would call a sifting mechanism. Jesus is pushing back against the request to try to draw out a moment of decision from the official. Will the official push back in faith or frustration? What we see is a response of desperate faith. He knows that only Jesus has the power to help Him and that he nowhere else to turn. Jesus raises the sakes even higher and tells the man to go home (without Him). “Go; your son will live.” The man has to decide whether he will trust the word of Jesus or not, and decide he does. He believed the word of Jesus and left. What he finds is that Jesus was faithful to His word, even to the precise moment He said it. This initial step of faith then grows as the man arrives home to find things just as Jesus said exactly when He said it. The challenge for us is often that initial step of faith. Will we trust Jesus even if He is not willing to do things the way we want Him to? It’s in this moment that we have an opportunity to see God’s faithfulness in amazing ways.

Let us ask God to take bold initial steps of faith, especially in areas of life that cause us to fear or worry.