His son was near death. All advantages of being an official in the royal court proved useless – none of the medical wizards of the day had a cure, no medicine had been successful. This father was frantic and without hope, until he heard that Jesus, the Rabbi who had performed miracles in Jerusalem, was now in Cana near his home in Capernaum.

Without hesitation he rushed to Cana. Upon finding Jesus, this official implored Jesus to come to his home and heal his son.

But Jesus didn’t go with the man. Instead he gave this father these words of instruction:

“Go home, your son will live” (John 4:49)

And this is what we read in the very next verse:

“When he heard the voice of Jesus, faith took hold of him and he turned to go home.” (John 4:50 The Voice)

He heard the voice of Jesus and

faith took hold of him.

His was not mental assent faith; it was active faith – he turned and went home knowing his son was healed.  Because he listened to words Jesus spoke, faith rose up in this man, and he went home.

He heard, he believed, he acted.

We may wonder how incredible it would be to hear the audible voice of Jesus speaking miracles into our lives. Yet we are not left with a voiceless Lord. We may not hear him with our natural ears, but He still speaks.

We can hear His voice in a message our pastor preaches. We can hear His voice as we read a verse, a parable, or a story in the Scriptures. We can hear His voice as we pray – as He inspires a nugget of truth that speaks to our need.

The Lord still speaks. And when we listen to what He speaks, faith takes hold in us- faith that inspires obedient action.

(Note for those reading “A Hand On My Shoulder” this truth is clearly exemplified in the life of M.D. Beall. In Chapters 4-7, just posted, you can read about two pivotal moments where she hears the voice of the Lord, faith takes hold and she responds with obedience.)