“May the glory of the LORD last forever! The LORD rejoices in all he has made! The earth trembles at his glance; the mountains burst into flame at his touch. I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!” Psalm 104:31-33 (NLT)
Charles was the father of the year. His son had invited him to go on a father-son mission trip. He had consented and his son thought Charles was the best father ever. Being the father-of-the-year, Charles had many responsibilities. Taking his children to Disney World would be fun. Overseeing their farm chores sounded like an exciting opportunity. Taking out the garbage and changing baby diapers would definitely be a challenge. But going on this mission trip was not something Charles looked forward to. I don’t like meeting strangers, he thought. In his heart, however, he knew the real issue: his son was terminally ill and Charles was scared.
A few Sundays later, the pastor preached about the centurion’s faith in Matthew 8. This Roman military officer could approach Jesus about his paralyzed slave because he understood about giving orders to those you command. Perhaps this officer had carefully considered the miracles Jesus had performed. But somehow he had concluded that Jesus commanded all the powers of heaven and earth. And he recognized how unworthy he was in relation to Jesus. But he was certain such a commander could give the order and the power of paralysis would obey him. The pastor noted how that this officer’s faith amazed Jesus. Then he contrasted the Lord’s amazement with that of the disciples later during a storm at sea. The disciples were amazed at Jesus, the miracle worker. Jesus was amazed at strong, confident faith.
Charles knew then that he had to go on the mission trip. He couldn’t deny his son the experience because of dad’s fears. Dear Lord, he prayed, give me faith like that centurion had.
During the mission trip, Charles was constantly reminded of the pastor’s sermon as he watched the confidence of indigent people building their church. He noted how they laid hands on those with illnesses and prayed in faith. Their confidence in the midst of stormy circumstances was beyond his ability to understand. But the miracles that he experienced there was proof enough that God had answered his prayer and was listening to theirs.
Charles and his son agreed it was a great mission trip. But for Charles, the realization that God is more interested in our confident faith than the storm around us was indeed his greatest joy.
Dear Father, thank you for the confidence we have in Christ. Empower our lives with confident faith like the centurion had. This I pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Be encouraged today with confident faith,