I’m so blessed to have two of my favorite passages from the Bible two devos in a row! The Faith of a Roman Soldier is such an impactful verse to me because it highlights two important aspects of Christ I often forget: He has all authority and it’s not about you. Let us address the first one.

In Jesus’ time on earth he spent time laying hands on the sick and healed them. People marveled at this! We all know of the story of the paralyzed man being lowered through the roof just to get close to Jesus. His proximity was powerful! The woman who reached out to touch his robe knew that if she could only touch Jesus, she would be healed. Jesus even states that he felt the power go out of him when she touched his robe. Clearly, Jesus had the power to heal – and much more.

Yet, when he interacts with the Roman soldier, he offers to travel to the man’s home to heal his servant, but the soldier tells Jesus he is not even worthy of his presence. Additionally, he states that he knows Jesus has the authority to heal the man simply by speaking it. Jesus marvels at this because a gentile just demonstrated the faith that God asks of us. That brings up point two: it’s not about us.

A gentile showed more faith than all of the Jews in the land. He did not have religious “rights” in a sense and was not one of the “chosen people.” No. He was a gentile. Yet, it was because of his faith, not his birthright or his heritage, that amazed Jesus.

I sometimes find myself praying, worshiping, and even hearing from God only to begin to question whether it was really Him or not. Doubt creeps in like a weed. Planting itself in every area of my mind until I am overrun with worry. So, I start the process over again. Yet, my heart longs to be more like the soldier. To have the faith that not only can God do it, but it’s already been done. Jesus already did it. His spirit lives within me and I need not let my heart be troubled.