Day 7: Write it Out
Reading for Today
Matthew 8:5–13 (NLT)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
We started this year with the mantra, that it’s going to be B!G! We’re on day 7 of our fast and truth be told, I don’t know about you, I’m more convinced than ever that there is something B!G that’s about to happen! But let’s face it, it’s hard. It’s hard to keep on praying, it’s hard to deny flesh! But the truth of the matter is, we have to latch on to one key factor, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE GOD! When we approach him with undivided belief, we find ourselves entering a new place of intimacy. Belief leads to a level of intimacy, that’s unmatched and unparalleled.
Allow me to clarify what I’m communicating. When I say believed, I am not simply saying that God wants to be believed in, I’m saying God wants to be believed. Believing in the existence of God is where we start but not where we should end. Belief in a cosmic creator in my opinion is logical and not necessarily spiritual and has little to no practical impact on our life. The Bible says demons believe and they tremble. When I say God wants to be believed, I’m divulging that
God deeply desires that we believe that He is exactly who He says He is and He will do exactly what He says He will do. This type of belief is what the Bible calls faith.
The Centurion of Matthew 8 is a prime example of having the right kind of faith. We know he believed in God because he broke away from his regular schedule to pursue Jesus. Somewhere in his journey, he decided that Jesus was more than just a man. However, his faith didn’t stop there. After Belitung God, he also showed that h believed God. At the mere Words of Jesus he goes home expecting that things were exactly as promised. Here is the point,
Believing in God can bring you to Jesus, but believing God can bring you to your miracle.
We must believe in both the nature and ability of God!
Believing God moves us from theory to practice. It causes us to act like we already have what we have asked for.