Matthew 8:8-10 (NKJV) 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
We are looking at how we wait on the Lord. This study has been eye opening to me. When the Lord first spoke this to my heart, I really did not expect there to be so much to the subject. As I have studied, I have found that waiting is a very important part of our spiritual and faith life. Over the last few weeks, I know that I have covered much of what we will say next. However, I believe it is important to end our study by defining a few “how’s” when it comes to waiting.
We took some time looking at definitions. Two words in the Hebrew language are translated “wait” in English. One means to be twisted together with God. The picture is of a rope. A rope is many strands wound together to make one thing. When we wait, we must recognize that we are entwined with God. We are one and his strength is our strength. The other means to stick to God. We must “stick like glue” to the Lord as we wait on him.
Next, I want to point out something else that may be obvious to some but is of great importance. Very often, when we look at biblical principles, we tend to turn on our “religion” switch. Religion involves rituals that we usually do not understand. We do them because that is what we do. When I was growing up as a Catholic, I went to mass and followed the religious “choreography” of sitting, kneeling and standing at appropriate times in the service. There were reasons why the congregation did those things, but I had no idea what they were. I just did them because the program said to and everyone else did.
When I first heard the word about the principles of faith, I was thrilled with the power and revelation within them. It was very popular to teach the principles of faith in “steps.” Teachings like “7 steps to the highest faith” or “10 steps to a deeper prayer life” were common. People tend to like clear, concise instructions. The problem with both a religious approach and a “steps” approach is that they discount the most important truth of anything we do with God. Christianity is a matter of relationship and relationship cannot be boiled down to either steps or religion.
Waiting is no different. We cannot wait effectively by following a set of steps or by “doing our religious duty. If we are going to wait successfully, we must realize that we wait within the framework of our relationship with God. Isaiah 40:31 is very specific. Those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. It does not say those who follow certain steps renew their strength. It does not say those who do certain rituals will renew their strength. It says those who wait for the person of the Lord will renew their strength.
We like steps and religion for the same reason. They are clean, straight forward and simple to understand. If we do these certain things, corresponding results will follow. There is a truth to this where the principles of God are concerned. For instance, the bible says that if we give it shall be given back to us. This is a principle and if we follow it, there will be predictable results. There are innumerable such principles that cover every area of life in the bible. However, these principles function within the framework of relationship.
The outworking and application of these principles vary from person to person. God knows you and he sees your heart. In the area of giving, Jesus taught that a “widow’s mite” was of far greater value than a large offering given by a rich person. How can that be true? If I give a dollar I will receive according to the gift. If I give a thousand, I must receive more back, right? Not within the framework of relationship. Jesus saw the widow’s heart and understood that the “mite” was all she had while the large offering was a fraction of what the rich man had. This does not make sense in either the religious approach or the steps approach to the principles of God. It makes perfect sense in the context of relationship.
Another example is the case of the woman caught in the act of adultery. The Law was clear. This woman had to be stoned to death for her crime. That was the religious thing to do. It was one of the “biblical steps” to a pure society.” Yet Jesus adjusted the principle’s application to match the hearts of both the woman and her accusers. He did not excuse her sin, but he also kept her from being stoned.
Allow me a more modern illustration. Have you ever known a couple who wanted to have children but were having problems conceiving? Sometimes they will do all sorts of things to make sure they have intercourse at the optimum time and in the optimum way to maximize their chances of becoming parents. Conception is something that involves rather intimate relationship! When you try to boil it down to times and position the results range from comic to tragic. I wonder if the Lord looks at some of our religious and mechanical attempts at faith and waiting in the same way.
The man in today’s scripture had an innate understanding of this truth. He was not a religious person in the Jewish sense. He was a foreigner who was in Israel as part of a conquering army. As with any such situation, he was part of a group that was generally hated by the native people of the land. He probably did not ask to be in Palestine. It was not a choice posting in the Roman Empire. In his time there, he heard about a man who did wonderful things. When his beloved servant fell ill, he sent word to this man.
Jesus, upon getting word of the Centurion’s situation immediately decided to go to the man’s house and help. This man was not a Jew. Surely, there were plenty of Jewish people who needed him. Why would he go to the home of a “non-believer?” I think it is because he sensed that the man understood relationship.
The man sends a second messenger to Jesus telling him there was no need for him to come to his home. He assures Jesus that he can wait without having to have Jesus present. There is much in what the man said from which we could learn, but for now let me say that the man understood whom he was asking for help. This was not a matter of religion to him. He was not following a procedure. He understood who Jesus was and without ever meeting him, had a type of relationship with him.
When Jesus heard the man’s message he said, “I haven’t seen this kind of faith in all of Israel.” We might put it this way. “In all the people who approach me religiously and all the ‘faith’ people who follow their steps, I haven’t seen this kind of faith.” In that moment, the servant was healed.
If we wait as a matter of religion or procedure, the devil will challenge our faith and our patience. However, when we know for whom we are waiting, and understand he is worthy of our trust, our faith will not be subject to challenge. You might say to me that my wife is having an affair. I would laugh in your face. I know my wife. I have deep relationship with her. I simply know that is not possible. Wait on the Lord. Cultivate relationship with him not just during the time of waiting but every day of your life. If you wait in the power of your relationship with him, you will see him move on your behalf. The Centurion did not have to wait very long. On the other hand, I do not believe it would have mattered. He knew Jesus’ integrity. His relationship with Jesus was not physical. Neither is yours. Just as the relationship the Centurion felt with the Lord enabled him to wait in faith and patience, so will your relationship enable you to do the same.
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