Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Open the floodgates

Monday, March 27, 2017

From John 4
In Cana, where he had made the water wine, a royal official came to Jesus. "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him,"You may go; your son will live."

It's a little boy this time. He's been sick for awhile. No antibiotics available, nothing the doctor can do, his breathing is shallow, and he sleeps all the time. He hasn't played with his friends in weeks. His mom and dad cry all day. They wonder if their marriage will survive if their boy does not.

But then they hear news. Can you believe it? The man who turned water into wine is nearby.

There are many of these stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And they almost always make me cry. Just as at the end of a good, redemptive movie, I always cry. When a father and son reconcile, I cry. However much I covet the two hours the movie took to watch, now I know I've redeemed the time.

I think about the father of the prodigal, waiting out on the road at the end of each day, hoping to see his son's silhouette far down the path. I think about waiting for word from Marc, or about Marc, after he left in the middle of the night, just sixteen, driving our car, trying to protect his friend from the police.

I think about my friends who might have been dying, or who are dying. What's it like to know that Jesus is nearby? Visiting the doctor to hear whatever she has to say, heart in your mouth, wanting to know but wanting at the same time to put your head as deep in the sand as you can get it. Jesus, nearby?

The "royal official" was not a follower. He may not have been a Jew at all. He didn't know what to expect from this strange itinerant and his gospel gang. He did not know, for example, that Jesus rose early every morning to pray awhile alone, talking with his Father.

This father did know how angry and frightened and sad he was. He could do nothing to help his son. His wife wept alone at home. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. So he listened to his servant, set out early in the morning, and went to find Jesus. Jesus did not seem surprised to see him.

It was wonderful to look into Jesus' eyes. The man's tension disappeared. He never questioned Jesus' confidence while they stood there together in the dusty road. Time stopped. Everything stopped. He held his breath.

"You may go. Your son will live." Jesus thought to himself, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And as they parted ways, back home in his bedroom his son awakened, sat up, and asked for something to eat.

When I'm tempted, Lord, to make my own path and forget to pray, remind me. I want to fall down on my knees and trust you. You are always near. When I don't ask you for healing, help me remember, Lord, to ask for what you so want to give. So often my prejudices and preconceptions push my prayers away and send me cornered, cowering, into despair. That's not what you want, and I don't want it either. Teach me to pray, Lord, and never to forget.

Devotions Archive

Open the floodgates

Monday, March 27, 2017