Scripture:

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. (John 4:46-54 ESV)

Observations on the Passage:

I wonder how most people would have reacted to Jesus if he (1) seemed exasperated with their request and then (2) didn’t go with them to see the problem through, but simply sent them on their way with a word of promise. Even more than this, how would most react once they found out that their child “began to get better.” Began to get better? Doesn’t sound like a miracle. Sounds like I just talked to Jesus at the right time. Sounds like a coincidence, actually. Still, Jesus promised healing and this time, unlike other times, the healing was a process rather than an event. It appears that sometimes miracles are shrouded, sometimes progressive, sometimes not the way I would script them… but miracles nonetheless.

Application for me:

Open up your eyes and see the miracles around you on a daily basis. God is, indeed, alive and still working miracles. You don’t need to search for signs and wonders of throwing mountains into the sea. Remember all of those fleeting prayers you have prayed (and forgot about), but God heard them and answered.

Prayer:

Lord, help us to see you in the everyday reality of life. May we never lose our wonder of the miraculous.