Have you been waiting, praying, seeking, and still haven’t seen the promise fulfilled? Has God given you a word, but it feels stuck somewhere between Heaven and Earth?

While reading in John 4, the Lord drew my attention to a particular verse. It came from the following passage:

“Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.’ The royal official said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son is alive.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’ So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son is alive’; and he himself believed, and his entire household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.”

John 4:46-54 (NASB)

My attention was drawn to verse 50: “Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son is alive.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.” 

When Jesus spoke to the man, the man believed and acted upon that belief. Though he hadn’t physically seen the miracle yet, He chose to believe the word of Jesus—that his son was alive—and returned home.

This was an act of faith by the royal official. He could have stayed and insisted that Jesus observe his first request: to come down and heal his son. The official had originally wanted Jesus to visit his son in person and perform the miracle.

Jesus gave the royal official an opportunity to take his faith further. He told the official to go—that his son was alive—without ever seeing, touching, or speaking to the son in person.

In verse 50, it says, “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home.”

The official believed, and he acted upon that belief.

Sometimes, to move forward, we must believe that the miracle is already done. Jesus completed the miracle before the official arrived home to see it with his own eyes. God calls us to walk by faith, not by sight.

Let’s act upon our faith that God will do what He says He will do.

I think that sometimes we want to see the miracle first. Before witnessing the breakthrough, we struggle to believe that “It is finished!”* Doubt, anger, or frustration may creep in and try to steal our faith. Don’t give in to doublemindedness. Stand firm in faith, and if you feel doubt tapping at your door, mediate on the goodness of God. Sing songs of praise, and make a verbal declaration of your faith. Don’t give doubt a foothold. Remember Who God is; remember He is faithful.

Maybe the miracle has already happened, and as we walk by faith, we’ll see it come to fruition.

Jesus tells us to persevere in prayer. In Luke 18:7-8a, He says, “…now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly…”

See also Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

Prayer is important, and prayer is necessary. Be persistent in prayer, and walk by faith. Know that God’s word is true. Celebrate His goodness and keep believing. Step out in all that God has for you, listening, obeying, and believing, even before you witness the miracle. Take a step of faith and move forward in all that God has for you.

His timing is perfect. Follow Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

*within John 19:30