Daily Devotional for Monday, February 9

Jesus and a Desperate Father

“And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him,” Luke 9:38, 39.

When our oldest son was very young, he became very ill. He was running a high fever, and despite our best efforts, he was not getting any better. We eventually took him to the emergency room, and he was ultimately hospitalized. During his time in the hospital, doctors performed several tests to try to determine the cause of his illness, or what his illness was. When one test yielded no solid answer, they would move on to another test. This went on for some time, and eventually our son improved. I prayed more in those few days than I have probably prayed in my whole life. Humanity’s greatest fear is usually the unknown, and we had no idea what was happening to our infant son.

            Even with the experience of that ordeal, and since then having a second child that has gone through open heart surgery, I still cannot fathom how this poor man felt. I have told people many times that the hardest part of seeing my children sick or in pain is the helpless feeling that I have when I cannot make them better. This man had to watch his demon-possessed son try to survive at the mercy of a demon spirit. Even as Jesus was approaching, “the devil threw him down, and tare him” (Luke 9:42). What a heartbreaking dilemma! As a dad, I can certainly sympathize with this man. How many times have we as parents cried out to God to heal our sick child? I can assure you, I have done it many, many times. This man was blessed to see Jesus. He knew that Jesus could heal his son. Jesus could do what the disciples could not.

CHALLENGE

Do not trust in the abilities of man. Trust God. He will never fail you.

Chris Floyd