Pam Padgett ... teacher
Matthew 8:5 And when Jesus was
entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal
him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou
shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to
this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to
my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Even though Jesus was willing to physically go to heal the servant of the centurion, the centurion knew that by only
speaking, Jesus could heal his servant. Just as the centurion spoke
and the people under him did as he said, the centurion recognized that by just speaking, Jesus had great power, even
over the servant's afflictions. Jesus only needed to speak, and the
servant's affliction would be healed.
The centurion wanted his servant to be healed. But his faith was not in his desire. His faith was in Jesus, in what Jesus said. He knew his servant would be healed if Jesus spoke. And he was ...
Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast
believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the
selfsame hour.
While reading this account it stood out to me how powerful the word of
God is. In whatever we face, the word of God brought to us by the Holy
Spirit is what is important. This is the power of God in the situation,
showing His view and His will in what we're dealing with. Our faith can only be in the word given to us by God in the matter. As we
believe the word brought to our attention by the Holy Spirit, and go according to that word, we see the power of God in the situation.
Another example I believe
shows the power of the word of God in our lives ... recently I asked God
to show me His view of a problem I had with a woman I once
worked with. I was reminded of a scripture that cut right through the
matter, clearly showing me how I was wrong in how I handled the
situation. (I contacted her and apologized.) It was amazing how this
scripture drove directly to the heart of the matter and laid it open. It didn't matter what I thought; I
wasn't able to sort through the situation myself. But the word of God
on the matter very clearly and powerfully shined a light on the truth.
Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened
unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.