The Mirror of the Word by C.E. White can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Word-Devotions-Reveal-Refine/dp/B0DFZS83C7  To learn more about this author and other words, visit https://cewhitebooks.com/

“Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.’ Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.”

—John 5:8–9

This isn’t the only instance when Jesus gave someone a physical command in conjunction with healing.

John 9:7: “‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ . . .. So he left and washed, and came back seeing.”

Luke 17:14: “He said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they were going, they were cleansed.”

And in the Old Testament, Elisha told Naaman, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean” (2 Kings 5:10).

Like Naaman, we might be angry that instead of immediate healing, God gave us something to do that doesn’t make sense (2 Kings 5:11–12).

But this is a picture of the type of faith we’re meant to have: we believe what God says (his Word), therefore, we follow it in action.

The Word of God is living and active (Romans 4:12), and to follow it is to live and act on it, not simply contemplate its message. We need to contemplate it to know what it says and recognize our Shepherd’s voice, but it does not end there.

Had these men not acted on what Jesus told them to do, they wouldn’t have been healed, and their faith wouldn’t have been built.

The Word of the Lord proves itself to us and builds our faith as we act on it. If we truly trust him, we will do what he says.

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