Do you promise?

John 4:48-54

“The man took Jesus at his word…” from John 4:50

I have read that the Bible has more than 365 promises, one for each day of the year, promises that we can believe and claim for ourselves. Do you believe that these promises are for you? If you do, you will claim them, try them out, depend on them.

Jesus returned to Cana in Galilee where he had turned the water into wine. A royal official who live in Capernaum had a son who was sick. In fact, he was close to death. When his father heard that Jesus had returned to Galilee, he found Jesus and begged Him to come heal his son. The anguished father said to Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” John 4:40. In other words, “Hurry, Jesus, before it’s too late.”

Jesus told the anxious father, “You may go; your son will live.” The father had a choice. He could cling to Jesus and insist that Jesus come in person to heal his son, or he could do what Jesus said--go back home believing that Jesus had healed his son. What would you have done?

The man took Jesus at His word. He left for home. While he was on the way, some of his servants met him with the wonderful news that his son was better. They said the fever had left the boy at the seventh hour. The father realized that was the exact time when Jesus told him his son would live. Then the father and all his household believed that Jesus had performed this miracle.

God’s word can come to us in various ways. Certainly we understand many things that God would have us do as we read the Bible. But, from time to time, we may also receive nudges from the Holy Spirit. If I intend to make a donation to a Christian cause, I usually pray about the amount God would have me donate. I wait until a specific amount is settled in my mind, and that is what I give. Sometimes when a certain person pops into my mind, I realize that God wants me to pray for that person or minister to him or her in some way. So, both as we read the Scriptures and as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have many opportunities to take God at His word and follow His lead, to show our faith in Him and His word, to please our Heavenly Father.

Father, You say what You mean, and You mean what You say in the Bible. May we take You at Your word. And when You nudge us by Your Spirit, may we follow Your leading. Amen.