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Learning to Trust in Jesus
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Short Description: Faith perseveres in trusting Jesus in the face of what seems to be delays ... Trust, like faith, is a growing process as our relationship with Jesus grows. ...
Content Inside: Learning to Trust in JesusBy Rev. Sam HarrisQuestion: As a fairly new Christian, I must admit that I struggle, at times,always trusting Jesus and His Word. Recently, I have been reading through the Gospelof John and read about the healing of the Nobleman's son in John 4:46-54. Verse 50really hit me hard in my question of trust. Here is a royal official who believed that hisson, who had been at the point of death, was healed. The verse reads "Jesus said tohim, `Go your way; your son lives.' The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,and he started off." I wish I had that kind of trust! Can you help me?You are certainly not the only person who struggles, at times, with trust. We all do.A question that we often deal with is: How can I believe Jesus can help me whenthere seems no tangible evidence to believe?The biblical truth that I want to convey to you is this: Faith is believing Jesus can helpwhen there seems to be no tangible evidence to believe. Lots of people struggle with thefeeling that God either doesn't care about them or is not able to help them. Some strugglewith the feeling that God is distant, and this distance is assumed to limit His ability to help.It's important that we understand the word: believe. Look at both the dictionary andGreek understanding of this word.Believe: (pisteuo) accept as true or convey a truth; a firm opinion; have faith in theexistence of; to have confidence in; to have trust in the advisability of.Bible: Belief is more than accepting certain facts to be true. Biblical faith includes suchbelief; however, it is basically faith, trust, and commitment to a personal God and Savior.In this passage, we see that this nobleman had three stages of belief:1. He came a long way to find Jesus because he had heard about the miracles Jesus didand he had a desperate need.2. When Jesus told him that his son was living, he believed the word ofJesus and headed home.3. After the man learned that his son was healed at the same time as Jesushad spoken, he and all his household believed.Let's look at each one of these individually.I. Vs. 47-49: "Nobleman" from the Greek, he was a royal official connected with aking--probably, Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. He came because his son was sick."Requesting" (KJV: besought: begged Jesus to come and heal him. He refused to give upuntil Jesus went with him.In our passage, we learn three things about faith and trust:1. It is not a blind leap in the dark; unbelievers accuse us of a gullible faith. Our faith is aresponse to the words and deeds of Jesus in the past. The nobleman would not havegone to Cana if he had not heard of the miracles that Jesus had already performed.2. Faith perseveres in trusting Jesus in the face of what seems to be delays on the part ofJesus. The man kept asking in spite of what Jesus said in verse 48. One reason faithperseveres is that faith is motivated by needs that only Jesus can meet.3. Initial faith is often imperfect and immature, but it is real. He believed that Jesus neededto be present with the dying son to heal him.1
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