Maybe you are facing a serious health problem. You cried out to God and promised that if He brought healing, you would follow Him. Maybe it was a financial crisis or the need for a job. Perhaps you were lonely and praying for a wife or husband.
But the Lord does not want us to seek Him merely for deliverance from some crisis, and then to put Him back on the shelf until we need Him in the next crisis.
Rather, He wants us to go deeper in our faith and to trust and follow Him because of who He is, not just because of what He can do for us.
To obey Christ means to believe Christ, and to believe Christ means to obey Christ.
John 4:48-50 NIV
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, you will never believe.
The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”
Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live!” The man believed Jesus’ words and went.
Jesus’ rebuke in 4:48, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” “You” is plural in this verse. Jesus was not just rebuking the man who was asking Him to heal his son. He was rebuking the Jewish people because of their superficial reasons for seeking Him. They sought Him for the miracles He did, but they didn’t understand that they should seek Him because He is their Messiah and Lord. But this royal official didn’t take offense at Jesus’ rebuke. He just pathetically cried out (4:49), “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”
This royal official comes to Jesus with Jewish “faith,” looking for a miraculous sign, but ends up going deeper to believe in Jesus as the Christ. He knew he Would Be Gone for Many Hours. Imagine the anxiety and fear that his son might die while he was away. The man would literally have to tear himself away from his son. Such an act shows how strongly he believed that Jesus could help him.
Jesus Granted his Healing but not his Request To Go Down.
If the royal official refused to return to Capernaum without taking Jesus with him, he would show that he did not believe Jesus’ word. But he believed immediately and he turned immediately, heading home to his son. He believes Christ’s word that his son was healed and he demonstrates his faith by starting off for home. He acted on his faith. Faith sees the unseen.
The royal official recognize and honor Jesus as the Savior of the world, as the Samaritans did. They believed in Jesus without any miracles, except for His words. They believed in Him because of His word.
One Reason to Seek HIM
God often uses the crisis in your life to get you to seek Him in ways that you never would have done if the crisis had not occurred. But you need to understand that seeking the Lord in a crisis is not automatic. Many curse God and grow bitter when trials hit.
But you should follow this man’s example by seeking the Lord when trouble strikes. He wants you to believe in and follow Him not only because He delivered you from your crisis, but also because He is the only Savior and Lord. He is worthy of your trust because of who He is.
The Truth About Us as Christian
Even those of us who have believed in Christ as Savior need to look in the mirror. All too often, we’re just like this royal official. We don’t pray unless we’re in trouble. We keep Jesus on the shelf, like Aladdin’s lamp. When we need Him, we pull Him off the shelf, try to rub Him the right way, and ask for His help. But after the difficulty passes, we put Him back on the shelf and starting to live a life again the way we used to be without Him.
Believe and your Household will be Saved
The following day, as he was on the way home, his slaves met him with the wonderful news that his son was been healed. The man was overjoyed, but he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just a coincidence. So he asked them at what hour he began to get better. They replied (4:52), “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” The man then knew that it was the same hour when Jesus had spoken the word, “Your son will lives.” As a result, the man and his entire household believed in Jesus.
Message
If you have believed in Christ, beg the Lord for the salvation of your entire household. Throughout the Book of Acts, there is a sequence of entire households coming to saving faith (Acts 11:14; 16:15, 31; 18:8).
It may not happen instantly with your family, as in these cases. But if the Lord has done wonders in saving your soul, begin to pray for your family. Live a gospel-transformed life in front of them every day. Let them see the love of Christ in you. Ask the Lord to save your family from their sins.
BiBoSouL 