I’m reading through Matthew 8 right now. Do you remember the story of Jesus and the Roman Centurion? Just in case you don’t, I’ll refresh your memory.
Jesus and his disciples have come to the town of Capernaum. When they arrive, they are greeted by a high ranking Roman officer. If you were Jewish in these days, it was normal to see members of the Roman army walking around but if they approached you, your defenses would be up. So, can you imagine how the disciples feel as this very powerful man approaches them, they are probably not expecting him to ask Jesus for help. Somehow, word has spread, that Jesus can do miracles and the Centurion’s servant is sick. He comes to Jesus to ask for healing and Jesus is willing to heal his servant so Jesus says, “ take me to him.” But the Centurion knows orders and how authority works so he says to Jesus that he believes all Jesus has to do is say the word and his servant will the healed. This faith is different than Jesus has seen in others and He heals the servant that moment, from where He is, with just His words.
I have always loved this story. I have admired this Roman man for many reasons.
- He saw his servant as a real person and cared for him in a way that was probably uncommon
- He was willing to go below his station to seek help, Romans didn’t ask Jews for help
- He believed Jesus had great power and authority
- He trusted Jesus power more than the Jews around him
He was a man who didn’t care what the cultural norms were or what everyone would think. He lived his life according to his own personal convictions. He didn’t care about the unspoken rules of society. By some miracle, he has seen or heard what Jesus has done and recognizes what is going on in the spiritual realm. Somehow, he understands that Jesus has authority over creation so if Jesus tells a body to be healed, it must obey Him, the same way that his soldiers obey his orders. He is unwavering in his belief that Jesus’ words hold immense power. Jesus acknowledges the great faith this man has and how he trusts Jesus and His authority over all things. We see the opposite occur just a few verses later in Matthew 8:23.
Here we find one of the times that Jesus and His disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee. We don’t know the specifics of what has happened just before Jesus gets into this boat but I love the reminder of Jesus’ humanity as we see that He was tired so He was asleep. As is common, because of the natural environmental elements in that small part of the world, a storm develops on the sea “out of nowhere.” The disciples freak out and wake Jesus up, who is clearly not worried. Then we see Jesus respond to His fellow Jews in the opposite way He did to the Roman. “Oh you of little faith.”
They have seen miracle after miracle and have such a rich history of worshipping a Living God who has made waters part and the sun stand still and they are worried this storm is going to be the end of their lives. They have been raised in a culture where every holiday and season has been designed to help them remember how powerful and awesome their God is and how He loves them and works to rescue them.
Jesus isn’t worried because He knows a couple of things. He knows that He has the power over creation so He’s got everything under control. He knows what His mission is here and that’s to die on the cross to offer salvation to the world, so a storm on the sea is not going to take His life.
I believe that there is some major change coming for my family in the next few weeks. As a mom, it is easy to start looking at school schedules and summer schedules with camps and church activities as well as athletic activities for all the children and start feeling overwhelmed. I can feel my need to make sure that my kids have access to all the things that I think matter or I think they need. All the deadlines and schedules and check lists and both physical and emotional needs of your babies and literally not knowing what will happen tomorrow can feel like a storm that has blown up out of nowhere.
I want to have the faith of the Centurion, but usually I identify more with the disciples, feeling out of control and loosing my mind. Why do I worry and work so much to try and control things that I can’t, but Jesus absolutely can. I want to look around at all the details of my life and know that Jesus really is in control of all creation. I want to be the person who has seen and heard and been reminded over and over again that the One True God has worked miracles before and He never changes. But I also want to be the person who understands how authority works and is willing to trust Jesus even when all conventional wisdom says to choose another way.
Really trusting Jesus in this way might mean that every thing I think needs to be accomplished, won’t be. I can get frustrated that He’s not working in the way or within the timing that I want. I think my kids need to experience something and if He doesn’t hurry up and get the ball rolling on some things, they are going to miss it. But trusting His authority over all things means that if His timing leads to my kids missing something, they were apparently not supposed to go. It’s not just trusting that His timing will work out to provide for my kids all the things I wanted for them, but instead to trust that what He has planned out for them will be exactly what they need, nothing more and nothing less.
In the last part of Matthew 8, we find the story of Jesus sending the demons that had been tormenting a man, into a herd of pigs. The pigs run off the cliff and die and the people are afraid and ask Jesus to leave their town. All Jesus has to say is the word “go.” Just one word and the demons flee.
I love the part where, when the demons, who recognize Jesus and call Him “Son of God,” ask Him why He is there. They say, “have you come to torment us before the time.” They know He has power over them to torment them if He so chooses. They know who He truly is and they know they must obey Him. And they seem to know there is an appointed time for their defeat or torment or some sort of altercation with the Son of God. There is no question in their mind about who has the authority.
I’m trying to get in the habit right now of immediate obedience. Unlike the demons, I have the choice to obey. I don’t have to do whatever I’m told but how beautiful it is when we choose obedience instead of being forced to obey. With my obedience Im trying to live my life in such a way that proves I trust Jesus’ timing, His provision and His authority by how fast I can follow Him with my next steps. When He tells me to wait or rest, I try to stop and rest, but when He gives direction, I try to respond in obedience. I’m trying to learn to stop hesitating in my obedience just because my circumstances aren’t what I thought they would be or I don’t know how it is all going to play out.
Writing was one of those things for me. I felt like God was asking me to write a book and in the process, start this blog. I don’t like to do new things or start things that I don’t know a lot about but it wasn’t about what all there was to learn, it was just important to be obedient.
I have also felt the Lord leading me to organize a trip to Israel. It was 12 years ago now that I went for the first time and I can’t get it out of my head. There are so many details that have to go right in order to take a group on a study tour in the Holy Land and I don’t know how to make it all happen but I’m trying to walk in obedience.
If you have ever thought about walking the ancient paths and seeing the places where Jesus and others have walked, I strongly encourage you to go. When I go we are going to see so many things but I will highlight some of the places and lessons from Jesus’ interactions with women. This trip will have many “follow me” moments and chances to learn to trust the leader, even when you don’t know where they are going.
I have to gauge interest before we can get airline tickets. The plan is to go October 16 – 27 2023. I will start a facebook page for those interested and host a few Zoom interest meetings to answer questions. The first Zoom meeting will be May 19, 2022 at 7pm central time. Comment, email or find me on facebook for the link.
Lord willing, we will walk the Holy Land together one day. I’m not sure what will happen with this trip but all I can do is walk in steps of obedience.
May we all be quick to obey the Lord’s leading, in both big and small ways. I know we will see and feel the blessing of intimacy with the Lord as we learn to obey faster and faster.
Your Fellow Traveler
Lacey
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