July 9, 2024 Devo

Jesus’ response to the man’s request for healing for his son seems a bit harsh when you first read it. But think about it. It’s a fair question. Jesus didn’t come to simply do miracles. Water to wine, miraculous healings, walking on water—none of that stuff was why He came. He came to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. He came so that He could bring redemption and salvation to a lost world. He came to restore that broken relationship between God and mankind. The miracles were to give proof of WHO He was. But people tended to get fixated on what He could do. The problem was that miracles don’t change people. They only impress people. Jesus didn’t want to just draw people to a show. He wanted to draw them to the Savior.
Jesus wasn’t trying to be harsh or abrupt with the man. He could have been trying to test him. Or he could have been trying to help the man clarify his own beliefs. Because the question behind the question is this one: “Will you believe in me even if I DON’T heal your son?” That’s putting faith in who Jesus is, not just what He does.
The question behind the question is one we all have to answer. Do we follow Jesus because of what He does for us or because of WHO He is? Are we relentlessly committed to Him because He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” or because of the blessings we think He bestows on us? How long would your faith last if suddenly your life became like Job’s, and you lost your family, lost your financial security, and lost your health? Can you still believe that God is good even when your life is going very, very badly? You see, the question behind the question takes us to the deeper soil of faith, while many of us are still planted in the more shallow soil of “fair-weather” commitment. Please hear my heart. God does often answer our prayers with a resounding response of “Yes!” Just make sure your faith goes deep enough that you can trust God the same when in His love and wisdom He says, “No.” That’s God’s Word for you today.