The final nine verses of John chapter four provide us with the record of Jesus healing the nobleman’s son. And among other things, it teaches us a very important lesson about faith.
There are actually three types of faith on display in this passage.
The first is what I call “what-have-I-got-to-lose” faith. And it’s based on what Jesus might do. It’s the kind of faith the nobleman exercised when he traveled all the way from Capernaum to Cana to see if Jesus could help his dying son. And it’s the kind of faith that motivates our desperate prayers for help when we find ourselves facing challenging circumstances. It’s not very deeply rooted, but it is a form of faith most of us can relate to.
Another of the kinds of faith on display in this account is what I call “what-an-amazing-God-we-have” faith. And it’s based on what Jesus has done. It’s the kind of faith described in verse 53 and experienced by the nobleman after receiving the news that his son had been healed. This is the kind of exultant, shout-it-from-the-rooftop faith we all hope to experience as we rejoice in the answer to a prayer. It’s an easy kind of faith that erupts unbidden from our grateful hearts.
And all of us hope that we will be able to jump directly from “what-have-I-got-to-lose” faith to “what-an-amazing-God-we-have” faith. We want our desperate cries to God to always result in immediate and triumphant answers to our prayers.
But most of the time, a third type of faith needs to be exercised in the space between the other two. I call it “what-am-I-going-to-do” faith. And it’s based on what Jesus has said. It’s the kind of faith the nobleman exercised when he chose to obey Jesus’s command to return home trusting to be true what Jesus said about his son having been healed. This is a much more mature faith, and demands more of us spiritually. But it’s the kind of faith God is always seeking to develop in us when we face life’s trials.
I can’t know what types of challenges you’re facing today. But I do know that they provide you with an opportunity to hold tightly to God’s Word, to trust it, to act on it, and to discover what an amazing God we have.