The Same Hour

March 15

"So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives. And he himself believed, and his whole household," John 4:53

The nobleman's son was dying. In desperation, his father approached Jesus with the sad tale of his worsening condition. To human eyes, the situation looked hopeless. Human hands couldn't help, but the father of the dying child knew the One to whom he was turning was not bound by human limitations. The loving father knew the One whose help he sought had brought Heaven's power to earth-bound man to set him free from sin and death.

Dire circumstances require dramatic action. Man's helplessness demands Heaven's hope. And Heaven's hope is still where it has always been—it is in Jesus, the One, "...who stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth," Isaiah 51:12, 13. In its entirety, the passage says, "Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who shall die and forget the Lord your God...?"

We who profess faith in Him must affirm that confidence, not only by sharing our belief with others but by employing it in our own lives at the point of our own need. We must have the boldness of the nobleman who approached the Lord with his dire problem.

The man was not one of the humble peasants who usually followed Jesus; in fact the Word says, "The royal official implored, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at His word and departed.

While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So the nobleman and all his household received the good news of Christ who transforms dire circumstances into cause for faith.

It wasn't as though Jesus were nearby when the nobleman determined to seek His help. Rather, the Lord was 20 miles from Capernaum where the nobleman lived! The anguished father had heard that it was in Cana of Galilee where the Healer could be found and he set upon the journey himself, rather than to send a servant to beseech the Lord to come and heal his son!

The man's desperation compelled him on a journey of love and hope; it set him on an errand that, if it failed, would assure he would not be at his son's side when he breathed his last. It was a journey of complete faith! And his faith was not denied!

Upon his return journey, after receiving Jesus' assurance that his son would live, the nobleman was met by servants of his household who told him that his son was raised from his deathbed! And in case the father might harbor any notion that this was a mere coincidence, the servants told him when the miraculous turn around occurred—and it was at "the same hour" that Jesus had promised his child would be healed!

Believers in Christ, arise! Let faith well up strong within you! Let your hope be "built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness"--(hymn by Edward Mote, written in 1834). Let your confident assurance be in His unchanging love and power. Believe and be sure that whatever your need, "He is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to His power at work within you," Ephesians 3:20.

You may know beyond the shadow of doubting that the promise of Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you cannot imagine," is true TODAY, and it is true for YOU!