Verse: Matthew 4:23-25
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Devotion
The obvious first application of this passage (in my opinion) is that Jesus has authority over sickness. As he preached the good news of the kingdom, he also demonstrated it. And similarly, we are called to also pray for God’s divine intervention. We are called to believe that God can and does heal today, and to pray for his kingdom to come now on earth as it is in heaven.
As I read this today, however, a different impression from the passage stuck out to me. Isn’t it amazing how people brought their problems to Jesus? For some reason reading the list of ailments just struck me—people brought so many issues to Jesus and trusted that he would do something profound in their life.
That got me thinking: how often do we just try to “manage” our own problems, to handle them on our own, before finally as a last ditch effort “bringing them to Jesus?” I want to have the same attitude as the people in this passage. I want to run after Jesus. To follow him around and find him! I want to bring him ALL MY PROBLEMS AND ISSUES.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
The door to God’s throne room is wide open for us. Just like the people of Jesus’ day who came to him repeatedly with their problems, we can bring our problems to him today. There is nothing selfish or wrong with that. He wants to know what you are struggling with. He wants to help you. He wants you to rely on him more and more.
In Psalm 28:7 David prays, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” God is your help. He is your strength. He is your encouragement. He is your sustenance. He is your support.
Thank God that he is for us! Let’s stop trying to do stuff without him, handling our issues in our own strength and wisdom. Let’s go to Jesus more often!
Author: Christian Dunn
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