All will be well

Sometimes, it’s hard to have faith. We’re rational, scientific, and want tangible proof or explanations for everything.  But the centurion in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 8:5-11) wasn’t like most of us; he had incredible faith in Jesus.  He came to Jesus, humbled, and just stated a fact, “my servant is suffering”.  He didn't ask Jesus to cure the servant, he just had faith that Jesus would know what needed to be done. 

Many of us, myself included, seem to think we know what we need.  Instead of telling Jesus how it is and trusting that He will provide and care for us, we ask for things.  We ask for that new job, for money, for things that we think will make us happy.  But that’s not what we’re called to do.  We must have faith that Jesus has the right answers and the right timing.  We might not know what we really need, or when something should happen.  As scary as it is, we need to trust that our loving God will take care of us, because He knows what’s best for us.  Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

If Christ Himself appeared to us today and said, “all will be well”, do we have the faith to believe that we can be a part of the change as Jesus would have us do? And do we have the faith to believe what He would do if His feet were on this earth in the midst of Covid-19 and racial unrest?  The Gospel tells us what He would do:

“When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: ‘He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”  (Matthew 8:16-17)

To be a part of the solution, we need to stay faithful through prayers and Scripture readings, worshiping as best we can under difficult circumstances during these troubled times, and not allow ourselves to be burdened or to feel separated from God – He is here, with us, always.