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Every command God gave was for the benefit of humanity. For instance, have you ever wondered why God told His people not to lie? It wasn't just so that individuals could trust the word of others. It wasn't just so that people would not belong to satan, the father of lies (John 8:44). It was also so that the practice of deception would not condition us to be cynical toward His word.
Alas, lies are prevalent in the world and negatively impact everyone. The average Christian distrusts their fellow believers and is just as skeptical, if not more so, toward God. This inability to trust is detrimental to their walk with God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet, there is hope for all who desire to shift their perspective and the Bible provides an example we can all learn from.
When Jesus went to Galilee, many were excited for His arrival. They'd seen Him perform miracles and clear out the temple in Jerusalem during Passover. Many believed in Him and understood that He was the Son of God. One such person was a royal official who had a dying son. Putting his royal position aside, he traveled to find Jesus and asked Him to come to his home and heal the child. “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed (John 4:50).
While hustling home, the official met his servants who had come looking for him. Unlike when messengers came from Jairus's house in John 8, these men reported that the official's son was healthy. As they discussed, they realized the son's fever departed just when Jesus said, “your son will live."
Dear Christian, could we equally take Jesus at His word the way the official did? Would we insist He lay hands on the person or thing we were anxious about? Would our faith cower to fear if He told us to go and worry no more because our problem was solved? Would we have the faith of the Centurion and ask Jesus to simply speak because we knew His word was enough to change our situation?
We need to remember that a key component of our 'faith' is faith. We have to learn to trust in Jesus and His word, which He receives from God Himself. In practical terms, this means that when we pray for something we must believe our petition was heard and our miracle is on the way. We are told in James 1:6 - But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
We must take a Jairus Stance and believe that the word of God can transform any situation. We must learn not to fear the smoldering firewood that threatens, knowing that it is nothing but embers. This requires a certain mental fortitude and dogged determination to overcome what seeks to overcome us - fear. This is not instinctive to every Christian. Nevertheless, God has given those who believe in Jesus a spirit of sound mind, self-discipline, power, and the very mind of Christ (2 Timothy 1:7 & 1 Corinthians 2:16). Plus, He has promised to calm our fears with His love (Zephaniah 3:17). Thus, believers must put those Kingdom Keys in their toolkit to work in the face of the problems seeking to snatch their faith.
Proverbs 4:23 warns us, "be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts" (GNT). And this is the issue - we are not careful how we think. This leads us to regard God the same way we see human beings, as unworthy of our trust and fidelity. However, as we remind ourselves of the miracles He's done, as we study the Bible to learn His steadfast character, and corral our hearts, minds, and thoughts with scriptures, we experience Him differently. We also begin to take Him at His word and can resist the arrows satan sends to break our faith in the Lord. Let us begin to take Jesus and His Father at their word. It is and will always be just as the angel said to Mary in Luke 1:37 - For no word from God will ever fail.
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