John 4:50b – Take Jesus at His Word

“The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” – John 4:50b

We can pitter patter around our world for a long time relying only on our own strength and our own sense of reason. We face a problem and we either solve it on our own or avoid it. We make sense of our world the best we can, whether by seeking out the knowledge accrued throughout history or our own lives; we make decisions, come to conclusions, and ponder unknowns. But inevitably we are all confronted with situations that force us to acknowledge the limits of our control, our knowledge, our ability, and our authority.

In John 4:50, a royal official found the limits to his wealth, power, and authority. He found the limits to his control, knowledge, and ability. When his child was near death he realized that all these things were never a proper place to rest his hope. When his child was near death he had no choice but to acknowledge that he must place his hope in something greater or have no hope at all.

Many a person has found their faith in times like these, and it is a gift when God allows us to see so clearly our need for Him. Our response in these moments is often to “[take] Jesus at his word,” and place our hope and our faith in Him. It is easy to do this when we have no other option, to cling to Him when there is no other way, but that is no test of our faith. The test of our faith comes later, when we choose to follow Jesus and to take Him at His word when the world tells us to live another way. When we have the choice yet again to fool ourselves into believing that we can live in our own strength and in our own knowledge. When the answer to our prayer does not come as we hoped, but our trust in God must endure. What do we do when we are not backed into a corner, but are yet again freely grazing in green pastures?

From what it appears in the rest of John 4, the royal official’s request for Jesus to heal his child was granted and the official responded with a lasting faith in Jesus and led his household to do the same (John 4:53b). Because of the official’s realization that Jesus was the Son of God with authority and power over even life and death, the official placed his faith in Him and followed Him.

We too must take Jesus at His word and rest in the hope that only He provides.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us and for listening to our prayers. Help us to trust you regardless of what this world throws our way and to trust Your will over our own.