Seeing is Believing – isn’t that how the old expression goes?
But that’s not always true. Have you ever been to a house of mirrors and seen your shape go from normal to tall & skinny or short & fat? And people will misconstrue what they see and what they hear.
I can just see the headlines now: “Boy Dying – Preacher Sends Father Away”
In John, chapter 4 a father comes to Jesus and tells Him his son is dying. The father begs Jesus to come.
“Jesus went to visit Cana in Galilee again. Cana is where he had changed the water into wine. One of the king’s important officials lived in the city of Capernaum. This man’s son was sick. 47 The man heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was now in Galilee. So he went to Jesus and begged him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, who was almost dead. 48 Jesus said to him, “You people must see miraculous signs and wonders before you will believe in me.”49 The king’s official said, “Sir, come before my little son dies.”50 Jesus answered, “Go. Your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus told him and went home. 51 On the way home, the man’s servants came and met him. They said, “Your son is well.”52 The man asked, “What time did my son begin to get well?” They answered, “It was about one o’clock yesterday when the fever left him.”53 The father knew that one o’clock was the same time that Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” So the man and everyone in his house believed in Jesus.” John 4:46-53 ERV
How many times did I want to see a miracle? Wanted to see the “power of God” moving and yet sat with the Bible on the coffee table and not opened it to find God’s miraculous, powerful Word for myself?
“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” II Corinthians 4:18 NLT
Thank God, He understands our limitations and the frailty of our faith. He is moved with compassion because He loves us so.
Do you remember what Jesus said to the centurion who came to him asking that his servant be healed? To him, Jesus said I will come and the centurion said no, just speak the word and my servant will be healed because you have authority and your word is enough. (paraphrased by me)
“Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”8 The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this, because I understand authority. There are people who have authority over me, and I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “The truth is, this man has more faith than anyone I have found, even in Israel…13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed the way you believed he would.” Right then his servant was healed.” Matthew 8:7-13 ERV
I want centurion faith! If God’s word says it – that’s enough!