Taking Jesus at His word

“The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at His word and departed.” John 4:49-50
Here in the latter part of John 4, we see the account of a healing that is only recorded in John’s gospel. Jesus was visiting Cana, where He had earlier turned water into wine. A royal official heard he was in the area, and travelled from Capernaum to Cana to ask Him to come and heal his son, who was dying. Jesus did not go with him, but instead said, “You may go. Your son will live.” This is very similar to how He also healed the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:13) and the Canaanite woman’s daughter (Mark 7:29-30), from a distance. The man obeyed, and when he returned home he found that his son had been healed at the same time Jesus spoke the word (John 4:51-53).
The key phrase I want to highlight is that he ‘took Jesus at His word’. Without any proof that his son was in fact healed, but only a promise from the Lord, he obeyed. Similarly, we need to be obedient – not just in small things or big things, but in all things. (Sometimes it’s easier to obey in the big things – seeking the Lord before making major decisions, or upholding the pillars of the Christian faith; and neglect to obey things that God has told us that we think don’t really matter. Of course, major decisions also require faith, but they generally involve a lot more prayer and seeking the Lord – at least, that’s what I have found in my own life.) A walk by faith is made of many steps, small and large. It’s not the size of the steps, but the direction in which they are made, that determines where you will end up. We need to walk in obedience, taking hold of the promises God has given us – taking Jesus at His word, and trusting that we will see the results.