I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen faith expressed as bold, assertive, arrogance (i.e. “ordering God around”)… I wasn’t impressed!! And I have a feeling, based upon what the Bible teaches elsewhere, neither was God! In fact, my recall is that Scripture asserts, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble!” (1 Peter 5:5) In fact, I’m impressed by the number of times in the New Testament where a plea for “mercy” is connected with an appeal for miracles and healing (cp. Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30-31 for example).
All of that to say that in my Bible reading this morning during “Coffee with the Lord” I encountered a “case study” in the powerful combination of faith and humility (Luke 7:1-10)…
A powerful and influential “centurion” in Capernaum had a servant who was very sick – at the point of death. The centurion, a Roman military leader, highly regarded by the Jews, sent a Jewish delegation to Jesus with an appeal to come and heal his servant. Their appeal to Jesus on the centurion’s behalf was telling about the quality of his character. They said, HE IS WORTHY to have you do this for Him, for he loves our nation and is the one who built a synagogue for us!” (Vss. 4-5)
The centurion’s response to Jesus, however, as he approached his house? “Lord, do not trouble yourself, FOR I AM NOT WORTHY to have you come under my roof! … Just say the word, and my servant will be healed!” (Vss. 6-7)
Jesus’ response was Incredible!! “When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at the centurion, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, ‘I tell you NOT EVEN IN ISRAEL HAVE I FOUND SUCH FAITH!’ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well!” (Vss. 9-10)
There it is… ONE POWERFUL COMBINATION – HUMILITY AND FAITH! Hey, it gets the Lord’s attention AND results in wonderful miraculous results! I’m going to remember that the next time I appeal to the Lord in prayer for a miracle! How about you?
Coffee With The Lord 