John 4:43-54 (New International Version)
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once 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. 47When 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.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Go ahead, call me two-faithed (no, I am not speaking with a lisp); because somewhere along my faith journey, I learned to transform my Galilean faith into a Royal Official faith.
In John 4:48, Jesus challenges the faith of the Galileans, who were only interested in seeing Him perform more miracles. In contrast, verse 50 finds Jesus turning His attention to a faith-filled Royal Official, to whom He simply says, “You may go. Your son will live.” No fireworks or fanfare; no signs or wonders. The official took Jesus at His word and returned home to find his son very much alive.
When I came back to the Lord as a young adult, I had a bona fide conversion experience. I felt God’s touch and heard His voice and I believed! After that, God continued to guide and reveal Himself to me in lovely and mysterious ways as I eagerly gobbled up the path of discipleship. I had the faith of a miracle-loving Galilean.
In time, I noticed these supernatural leadings becoming less frequent even as my faith grew deeper. But shouldn’t a closer walk result in even more signs and wonders?
Not necessarily. See, God doesn’t want us to get caught up in the distractions of signs and miracles. That’s idol worship. He wants our focus on Him alone as the source of new life – like the faith of the Royal Official. So instead of anxiously awaiting signs and leadings before we make life’s tough decisions, God wants us to use His gift of free will, the wisdom we develop through experience, and the faith to trust the promises in His word.
PRAYER: Lord, please help us to take You at Your word and believe in Your promises instead of being distracted by the desire for miracles and signs. Grant us the wisdom to seek You in all things, and to trust you with our whole lives. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
Barbara Robertson
