The Power of Believing

Sorry for the lapse, folks, I am in Hyde Park, NY, attending the 50th Anniversary of the Focolare Movement in North America, and have not been able to update the pages. I hope to be back on a regular schedule soon.

Today's Gospel (John 4:43-54) speaks about the power of believing. We hear of a man, a "royal official", who comes to Jesus because his son is ill to the point of dying. The man begs Jesus to come to his home and heal the boy. But Jesus simply tell him to go home - his son will live. Incredibly, the man believes Him and goes home, where he discovers that his son has indeed recovered. Upon hearing that the boy got well at the same time Jesus told him to go home, the man and his whole household came to believe in Jesus. What a beautiful story of faith! How incredible that this man simply accepted the declaration of the Lord that the child would recover. No fusws, no pleading for Him to come anyway. He trusted that Jesus would take care of things and he let go of his own notion regarding how that should happen.
I often wonder what God thinks when I lay-out exactly what I want and how I think God should acccomplish it. The old saying "if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans" is really true. Living in this present moment and trying to do what God wants of me right now is hard enough. Trying to lay out the future is impossible. I know in my heart of hearts that God is watching over me, but sometimes I just can't resist telling Him what to do. My prayers can become almost demands, which really are expressing doubts that God knows what is best. If I truly believe that God, the all-powerful, all-knowing Father knows me and what is best for me, I have to let go of my own plans and believe that His love will accomplish what is best for me. And when you think about it, that is really the best testimony of faith. The power that comes from believing frees me from having to worry about things. If I "let go and let God", I can be confident that my life may not be easy but will bring me to the joy of heaven. And after all is said and done, that is the most important and powerful thing that I pray God will do for me. That is the true power of believing.