He Has the Power to Heal

“Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:6,7).

It was an unlikely scene. A man of rank, a Roman centurion—a captain of 100 soldiers—sends an urgent message for help to a lowly Jewish rabbi named Jesus. The captain’s valued servant was on his deathbed. The physicians had exhausted their remedies. Time was running out. Jesus was his only hope.

This wasn’t a last-ditch cry of desperation, though. It was a prayer of trust. The centurion had heard about—maybe even witnessed—some of Jesus’ miracles. He was convinced that Jesus had the power to do anything. The Lord only needed to say the word, and the centurion’s servant would be healed. And that’s just what Jesus did.

Jesus still has the power to do anything. He cares about what we’re going through. He’s the only one who can really help. But like the centurion, we must admit that we are not worthy of his attention. God is holy. We are not holy. We fail him. We fail others. Why should he bother?

Every miracle showed God’s good intentions toward the unworthy. Each one was saying, “God loves you!” By delivering people from impossible problems, Jesus proved his power over the far greater problems of death and hell. Jesus exchanged his life for ours and paid the horrific penalty for every sin when he died on the cross. “God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through Jesus, God declares us “not guilty.”

What are you facing today? Whatever it is, you matter deeply to Jesus. He has both the power and the desire to help. He has the wisdom and love to give us exactly what we need. He needs only to say the word.

With his Word Jesus also works the greatest miracle of all. He gives us the faith to trust in him. Join us this Sunday as Jesus comes to us in his Word. He makes us sure of his forgiveness. He gives us the confidence to trust him for everything.

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