DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Monday, January22
WATCH RESTEEM AND FOLLOW
TEXT: Matthew 8:1-13
- When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
- And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
- Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
- Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
- saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
- And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
- The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. ”
- When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
- And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
In verses 5-9 of our text, we see the faith of a military officer who met Jesus on behalf of the Centurion’s servant. He had learnt the force of authority through his many years in the military. Therefore, he told Jesus that He did not need to physically see the sick servant before healing him; Jesus only needed to speak the word. That’s all.
When Israel cried unto God in their distress, “He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:20). The word of God has healing capacity. The word of God represents His person. “Where the word of a king is, there is power...” (Eccl.8:4). “And it came that to pass on a certain day, that as He was teaching...the power of the Lord was present to heal them” (Luke 5:17). By faith, we can receive healing through hearing the word; we can also trust God to heal the sick by sending His word. Are you sick? Is your relation sick? Pray for God to send His word to that situation; the healing will come.
Prayer: Lord, sent your word and heal the sick today.