Plan B
"When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. "If anyone deserves your help, he does," they said, "for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us." So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, "Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, 'Go,' and they go, or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say to my slaves, 'Do this,' they do it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!" And when the officer's friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed."
Luke 7:1-10 NLT
"What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." Mark 9:23
Jesus responded, "Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26
Faith is a funny thing. We profess to have faith: faith in God, faith in Christ Jesus, faith in the Holy Spirit. But yet, we doubt. We doubt the power of God to heal, to save. We think we do not doubt, but thoughts creep in, and we look for a plan B.
After my husband's stroke, I relied heavily on the verse Proverbs 3:5, Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. And I did, I trusted, and I fought, and I failed to fully allow God to take on some of the healing that needed to take place. In fact, before my husband's stroke was one of my biggest tantrums. We moved into a house that I did not like, did not want to be in it, too much to deal with, too much to clean and take care of. I was not too fond of the neighborhood and was overall throwing mental tantrums. My faith was weak. I did not trust the plan that God had for our family. Instead of going along with God's plan, I was trying to live out my plan. I was making contingency plans and creating what-if scenarios. But God knew what was best for us. This house was perfect for my husband's recovery as it had a first-floor bedroom and hardwood floors throughout the main level. There was only one stair that could be tackled with a wheelchair ramp to start and then handrails for the future. The garage and the main story did not require stairs, and overall the house was ideal.
I see the faith of the Roman officer, who would have been a non-believer, and I realize that while I call myself a follower of Christ, my faith is not as strong. The officer knew his servant would be healed just by trusting Christ's power to do so. This servant was a member of his household, like a family member. Then we see those who are a part of the Jewish community, the community chosen by God, who asked Jesus to help his son "if" He could. The stark contrast between the Jewish man who asked Christ to help "if" He could versus the Roman officer who "knew" Jesus could.
As a believer, I realize that my faith is not as strong as the Roman officer's, and I find myself depending on me or my friend's advice rather than giving it over to God in prayer. My struggle may be your struggle. I know that I am resolving to hand over what troubles me to God, that I will have faith in His power to act on my behalf in favor of what is best for me. I know that He is working all the time, whether I see it or not, whether I understand it or not. There is no longer a plan B for me, only a plan God. Will you join me?
