Lord, if You will • Deshen Daily

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2, ESV)

As Christians, many of us have little trouble believing God is powerful. But for our faith to produce practical results, we must also believe He is faithful and willing. For strange reasons, believing God is willing to do good to us is difficult for many Christians.

This difficulty is displayed in the story of the man with leprosy who came to Jesus. This man knelt before Jesus and said, “if Thou wilt, thou canst make me clean”. He essentially meant he knew Jesus could—He’s got the power. But his only concern with Jesus was not His power but whether He really wanted to. In response, probably silently broken in the heart by what this man thought about Him, Jesus said, “I will; be thou clean.” (Mark 1:41 KJV).

This leprous man had a serious spiritual condition—his understanding of Jesus threatened his well-being more than leprosy itself. He had a stronghold in his mind; he doubted if Jesus was willing to heal Him.

This man’s plight is an open book of the condition of many of God’s children. Why is it easier to believe that God will easily judge us for our sins or that He wants us to suffer rather than that He is willing to do something good for us?

Regrettably, strong theological, doctrinal, or even personal ideas create these strongholds in our minds. It will be impossible to examine these thought patterns here. However, if you are in the same state of mind as this man with leprosy, this is Jesus’ words for you “I will”.

Meditate

I want you to personalize this: why is it difficult for you to believe God would rather you suffer than have something good? Is there a Bible verse or doctrine behind that thought?