Day 77 "It's better to obey God than to fear man."

Day 77

Matthew 9:23-26 When Jesus came to the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead; but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

"And they ridiculed Him." Even though there were scoffers, Jesus did what Jesus wanted to do. He didn't let nonbelievers, scoffers, or any tools of the enemy stop Him from fulfilling His goal. He didn't come to this house to convert sinners; He came to answer the cry of a faithful man.

A little over 29 years ago, a young man whom I had spent many years with as a dear and close friend and his wife were at the hospital awaiting the fate of their first child. I remember it very well, because two days earlier my wife had gone home with our first daughter, Katie. You see, our children were born within three days of each other, yet their child remained in the hospital with health issues, and the prognosis was not good. My wife and I had two years earlier rededicated our lives to the Lord, while my friend and his wife would have nothing to do with our beliefs. After five days in the hospital, my friend asked me if I would pray for his child; the doctors were at the end of their rope, and there seemed to be no other hope. I truly felt the leading of the Holy Spirit to go and lay hands on the baby, and in my heart I believed that God was going to heal him; however, I did not mention this to his parents. Arriving at the hospital, I found the mom holding her child who was very yellow, frail, and obviously very ill, and with their permission, I laid hands on the child and began to quietly ask the Lord for His will in this child's life to be fulfilled. In the midst of my prayer we were suddenly interrupted with extremely vile profanity and expletives demanding that this religious fanatic gets out of the room and away from this baby. Unbeknownst to me, the mother-in-law had come into the room, saw me praying, had gone completely ballistic, and was now out of control. At the parents’ request, I immediately left the room and consequently the hospital. Later that evening, the mother and her child were released to go home. Apparently there had been a miraculous, unexplainable change in the child's health, and his organs were now functioning properly. Unfortunately, it was shortly after this time that our relationship with this couple came to an end; they simply no longer enjoyed our company. Apparently our religious views were somewhat different.

Now, while I would never in any way compare myself to our Lord, I do believe that when we act in faith as He did, we will be ridiculed as He was. This family, to my knowledge, has never acknowledged the Lord's hand in healing this child; however, the fact still remains that God miraculously healed him! Why would God heal someone who didn't believe or bless people who turn their back on Him, you ask? I believe that miracles like these are the result of faithful people who have sought the Lord on behalf of others, just like the ruler in this passage. Even though there are scoffers and nonbelievers around, don't stop seeking the Lord on behalf of those you love. God is faithful to His children, and sometimes they don't even know it.

Daily Prayer: Father, help us to have the faith to believe that our loved ones who are lost are on your list, that you hear our prayers for them, and that you will be faithful to love them. Bless them, and give them opportunity to glorify You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

"It's better to obey God than to fear man."

Pastor Gene Burroughs