The Faithfuls
BRD REFLECTIONS:
(Ray Yap, SGM Leader)
READ:
John 4 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
The faith encounters between Jesus, the Samaritan woman and the official are very similar.
In verse 15, we can infer from the dialogue that the Samaritan woman trusted Jesus from the way that she asked Jesus for water so that she would never need to thirst again.
In verse 50, the official trusted Jesus and took Him at His word that his son would live.
In both accounts, they took Jesus at His word and believed it! They were saved and so were many others through their testimonies of faith.
APPLY:
If I placed myself in those situations, I would need a lot of faith to be able to respond the way the Samaritan woman and the official did. If I were the Samaritan woman, the conversation up to that point would have sounded very bizarre to me. I might have thought Jesus was not of sound mind (without knowing who He was) and would try my best to get out of the conversation
In the case of the official, as a father myself, it would not have been easy for me to leave Jesus without dragging Him along to treat my son or to get some kind of medicine to bring home.
Faith is a crucial aspect of my spiritual journey with God and I use the imagery of a “faith piggy bank” – as God carries me through my life challenges, my piggy bank will increase, and I then will trust God even more, thus forming a virtuous cycle!
DO:
I am reminded to seek God first instead of relying on my own strength in tackling any challenges.
PRAY:
Lord, thank You for the reminder that faith is a crucial aspect of my spiritual walk with You! I will trust that You are bigger than all my problems and circumstances. I pray that I will continue to place my faith in You through my life journey. Amen!
