Believing before Seeing

What do you do when you’re praying for a miracle, but everything around you says it’s too late?

In this episode of Woman in the Word, we look at the story of the government official whose son was gravely ill—so sick that his life was hanging in the balance. He came to Jesus believing that Jesus could save his son, even before he had seen the answer to his prayer.

This story reminds us that faith isn’t always about what we can see. Sometimes, believing means trusting the Word of God when circumstances look impossible, choosing to take Jesus at His word before we have any evidence of the outcome.

As we explore this powerful encounter, we’ll be encouraged to examine where God is asking us to believe before we see—to trust His character, His promises, and His timing even when the situation feels desperate.

Because sometimes faith looks like taking the next step while the answer is still on its way.

Scripture Focus: John 4:43–54

Enjoyed this episode of Woman in the Word?

Be sure to follow the show and leave a rating or review, to help others find these meaningful conversations. 

Connect with Felicia

Instagram: @woman.intheword

team@purposepromise.net

Stay rooted in the Word and faithful in the journey.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Woman in the Word, the podcast where we dive into scripture, ask real questions, and walk through the Bible together, one honest conversation at a time. I'm Felicia Parker, I'm your host, and I'm so glad you're here. So whether you're new to the Word or you've been studying for years, there's a seat at the table for all of us. So grab your coffee, open your journal, or put on your walking shoes, and let's get into it. Hey, welcome to the Woman in the Word podcast. I'm so excited that you are joining me today. I am looking forward to our conversation today. We are talking about believing before seeing. So let's jump into it. Have you ever told your children, um, hey, we're gonna go to this place or that? We're going on vacation in the summer and we're gonna do this thing, we're gonna go to this place, we're gonna eat at this place, we're gonna go see these, you know, things. And you tell your kids, hey, I want you to believe what I'm saying because you're gonna see it when we get there, but I need you to believe my words that I'm telling you now. Have you ever been in that place? And your kids are like, but I'm ready to go now. Like I wanna, I wanna see it now. I know we're supposed to go, but I want to see it, I want to see it, I want to see it. And you're saying, hey, just hear what I'm saying and believe me that we're going to go one day and you will see it one day. I don't know if that's just my kids, or maybe that's yours too, or maybe that's you and that's me, because I know I'm that kid when it comes to God as my father, and he's telling me, Hey, Felicia, I promise I will provide for you. Just take me at my word, or I will be a protector, take me at my word. I will be a comforter, take me at my word, I will be a healer, take me at my word. And sometimes I'm like, you know what, Lord, I want to see it. I want to see the bank account with more than enough. I want to see the body healed. I want to see, you know, my children doing what they're supposed to be doing. I want to see, you know, the perfection in my marriage. I want to see the surplus in my business. I want to see, you know, all the things that we say we want to see. And how many of us know that it's not like that in the kingdom of heaven? God lets us know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And so the more I hear what God is saying, I'm now getting faith for it. And faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What does that mean? I have hope for something I haven't seen yet because I've gotten a word. And so that word has gotten in my heart if I play it over and over long enough, that it has created a vision in my mind of what is going to come based on the word that has been given to me. And y'all, how many of us know that it is easier to see it and then believe it than to believe it and then see it? I don't know if that's just me or if any of you can relate to that, but uh, I am a ooh, let me see it because it will allow me to have peace of mind, right? Or let me see it because I don't have to wonder when it's gonna come, or I don't have to have the the worry or the anxiety or the stress in regard to it. But how many of us know that does not grow us in our spiritual walk? That doesn't develop us into the mature Christian that Jesus desires us to be, and so we've got to believe it before we see it. Easier said than done, but y'all, it's so worth it to take God at his word, to hear what he's saying to you, specific about your marriage or your children or your finances or your health or your relationships, your career, where to live. Hearing the word that he gives you is the surest foundation you can stand on, and then you have the opportunity to one day see it. But I want you to know believing before seeing is the way things work in the kingdom of heaven. Hey, I just wanted to take a quick pause in our conversation and introduce you to the lover of your soul if you have yet to meet him. I would love to lead you in the prayer of salvation. So if you'd repeat after me, that'd be awesome. Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I'm in need of a savior. I confess that Jesus is Lord and I want him to be the Lord of my life. I believe that you raised him from the dead to rule and reign for all of eternity. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with the precious blood of Jesus. I thank you, Lord, for dying on the cross just for me. In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, if you just prayed that prayer, I want to welcome you to the family of God and just say congratulations. We see in John chapter 4 of Jesus having this conversation with a man, and he's basically saying, Hey, believe the words I'm speaking before you see the results in your life. And so this man, and I'm gonna pick up in scripture, his son is sick and he's going to Jesus to ask for him to heal him. And verse 46, now mind you, Jesus has left a place, he's coming through this town, and this is a town he's been through before, so people have heard of what he's done, the power that he possesses, the miracles that have followed him. Verse 46, it says, As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, he being Jesus, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Caperna whose son was very sick. Verse 47. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. He asked, verse 48, it says, Jesus asked, Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders? 49. The official pleaded, please, Lord, come now before my little boy dies. Verse 50. Then Jesus told him, Go back home, your son will live. And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. I'm gonna put a pen in it really quick and just say, Jesus is doing the same with us today. He's saying, Hey, will you believe me as your healer if you see the healing? Or will you believe me as your healer because I said I'm your healer and that I am the one that went to the cross for your healing? Will you believe me that I'm a restorer because you saw me restore, you know, your job or your marriage or your children? Or will you believe me just because I said it? Will you believe me that I will protect you? Or do you need to see me send a legion of angels, you know, with fiery swords all around you before you will believe it? And he did the same with this man. He says, Hey, in verse 48, he says, Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders? Basically saying, Is it gonna take seeing for you to believe? Or can I call you higher and ask you to believe before you ever see? And when Jesus says, Go back home, your son will live, it says that the man believed what Jesus said and started home. And I don't know about you, but have you ever, I know I found myself in this place. Have you ever found yourself in a place of, okay, I heard the word, but I'm still waiting to see something before I move, before I take a step, before I put some action behind it? I've been there. I don't know about you, but I love how it said this man, it said he believed Jesus and he started going home. He didn't believe Jesus and say, now Jesus, come with me like I asked you to, because the only way he's gonna be healed is you physically being in the room with me and me being able to see you do your miraculous signs and wonders. No, it says the word that Jesus spoke, this man believed it and he put action behind his believing. And today I want to ask us all, are we putting action behind our believing based on what the Lord has already said to us even before we see it? Are we going to activate our faith by putting our feet into motion or our mindset into motion or our finances into motion or our attitudes into motion? Are we going to do based on what we've heard, or are we still waiting based on what we see?

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Mornings matter, moments matter. At Savor Coffee, every cup is crafted with purpose and rich, bold flavor you can taste. Slow down, sip deeper, start your day right. Savor coffee, by his grace, for his glory. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. And Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 6811 Eastern Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89119.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

This part of the story I just really love. It says, verse 51, while the man was on his way, I love this, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well, verse 52. He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, yesterday afternoon, around one o'clock, his fever suddenly disappeared. Verse 53. Then the father realized that that was the same time that Jesus had told him, Your son will live. And then it says, He and his entire household believed in Jesus. Y'all hear me. I don't know if you caught that, but it says, as he's walking home, the servants come to him. They come to find him because they saw the miracle, they were in the house, they experienced it, and they go to him to deliver the great news. Now, mind you, he's already heading home because he's got a promise. Okay, he's got a word from the Lord. He he's got this word that my son is gonna be healed, and Jesus said it. And I've seen, or even if he hadn't seen it, I've heard what he can do, and maybe he's been privy to other people's miracle. But he said, Okay, this man that possesses this power gave me a word. Now I'm gonna head home with this word in my hand as a receipt to what I'm about to see. And as he's going, y'all, his servants come back to him and say, Hey, your son is alive and well. They got to see it and they're running back with the great news. And I love how he got that encouragement on the way. And I feel like God today meets us in the going. He says, Okay, your son is alive and well. Your son will be your son will be well. And he begins to leave. And on the journey before he ever got to his house, God gave him some encouragement by sending the servants and saying, Hey, your son is alive and well. And he says, Well, when did that happen? And they said, Well, yesterday, about this time. Yesterday, around one o'clock, and I love how it said, his fever suddenly disappeared. Not as slowly, but surely dissipated. It, you know, came and went, it spiked and it and then it fell. No, it said it suddenly, like in a moment, it went from him looking like he was about to die to this boy being alive and well. And I need us all to hear this, and I'm I'm really speaking to myself on this. When God speaks, his word is not wasted language, meaning he is not speaking just to say something. As soon as he opens his mouth to speak, that word goes on assignment and it does its job until that job is complete. So when Jesus told that man, go home, your son will live, in that moment, that word did its job. That word went to work. And that little boy, that fever immediately left him because Jesus spoke to that sickness and that disease, and he said, Your son will live, meaning disease, you gotta go, sickness, you gotta go, knocking on the door of death, you got to go. Because a word from the Almighty God had been spoken. And scripture says that God's words are sent on assignment to produce that what it has been sent for, and it will not return to him void, meaning it won't come back without completing the assignment it's been sent to do. So if God has spoken over your marriage, you better believe that word has been sent on assignment and it's not gonna stop until it produces exactly what God said it's gonna do. If God has given you a word in regard to your job, it is not going to come back producing nothing or coming back in void. It will be sent on assignment and do what it's called to do. If God has given you a word for your children, if God has given you a word for your health, if God has given you a word on where you're supposed to start that business or plant that ministry, that word will go out and do what God has called it to do. And it will not come back to God without being produced in the way God has sent it out to be produced. I need somebody to hear that, and if it's just me, I'm hearing it today. Because sometimes a word we get from God, and sometimes there's time in between seeing what we are standing on and believing for. And I need us all to hear that just because there is some time between hearing the word of God and seeing the manifestation of that word, it does not mean that word is not working. And if we would open our eyes and see, God would actually send encouragements along the way. But I don't want us to miss it. This man received what the word was going to produce because he went in believing. He stepped out in faith and said, I'm gonna believe what he said and I'm gonna go home. He didn't say, No, hey, rabbi, hey, Messiah, hey, whatever they were addressing him in that town. Jesus, hey, I need you to come with me. I heard your word, but I still need you to come because I need a little bit of a sign. I need a little bit of a sign and wonder to go with me. No, no, no. It says, Jesus said the word, and the man left and went home, believing what Jesus had said, and he put action behind his believing. Today I'm asking all of us to put some action behind our believing. If God gave you a word, it's enough. Because that word has the power wrapped up in it to do everything that God has said that it will do. Jesus said, Go home, your son will live. That's all he had to say. Power that could speak to death was wrapped in that word. He said, in other words, he said, Death, let that child go, he's gonna live. But that man had to take that word and believe it as if he was seeing it with his own eyes in that moment. And I just want to encourage somebody today. Maybe you got a word and you haven't seen it yet. Hold fast because God's words do not fall to the ground without producing, they will not come back void, they will not go out and be unproductive. That word will produce. I need you to know that even if it takes a little bit of time, that word is working and God is allowing that word to do everything that He's called it to do in that specific situation. So keep walking, keep believing, and one day you will be able to say, look at what the Lord has done. Okay, so how many of us know that Jesus doesn't just do things just to do things, right? Meaning he doesn't just do miracles just to do miracles. There's always a why attached to the what. So Jesus says, Okay, go home, your son will live. The servants come out. Oh my goodness, your son is alive and well. We saw him on the brink of death. He was about to die. Now this child is alive and well. Come and see. And so he, you know, gets to the house and he sees that his son is alive and well. And y'all, not only is he grateful that his son is alive and what, well, it says he and his entire household believed in Jesus. What does that mean? Back in the day, their household included their servants as well as their family members. So everybody in their house, in this man's house, believed on Jesus. So Jesus spoke a word that produced healing in this man's son. The servants got to see it, the man got to hear it, and the whole family got saved. Y'all hear me. Sometimes that word that sent forth, it sent forth for those people that are standing in the situation, seeing it look bleak and hopeless. And they come back to you and they say, Hey, oh my goodness, the the the deal that we were working on for your for your business, for some for some reason something shifted. Or, oh my gosh, your marriage. For some reason, it's looking different. Or, wow, your child, they were in the hospital and they were given so much time to live, but something looks different. And you say, Oh, I know what it is. God gave me a word. Now tell me when you began to see change. And they say, Oh, we saw it at about this time. And then you will recall at about that time, that's the word, that's the time God gave you the word. That's the time he gave you that confirmation from heaven that says, Hey, I spoke this, it's gonna come to pass. I spoke this, it's sin on assignment. I spoke this, it's wrapped in power from Almighty God. I spoke it. So now it's going to produce, and it's gonna produce in your life not only just a miracle, it's going to produce an eternal perception shift for everyone in your household, meaning everyone in proximity to this miracle will now have the opportunity to serve Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And I don't know any greater gift than that. I'd much rather have to walk out the believing so that those far away have the opportunity to see. I get to grow in my faith and believe before I see, and then we all have the opportunity to lean in to Jesus as our Lord and Savior like never before. Y'all, I love that it says his whole household believed in Jesus. And Jesus knew when he spoke that word what the outcome would be. Not just the boy would be healed, but he knew those those lives would be transformed because of the boy being healed. So I'm asking you today, are we looking at what we're believing for as the main thing when ultimately Jesus is looking at those lives connected to it being changed and transformed for the glory of God as the main thing? So maybe, maybe if we take the weight off of it, whatever it is, the job, the marriage, the children, the health, maybe if we take the weight off of that and we put the the weight on God and allowing his word to produce so that it changes hearts for eternity, maybe we could, like this man, take a nice stroll back home to see change taking place in our marriage and in our health and in our finances and our children, in our friend circles, on our job. Maybe it would be just a little bit easier because we're realizing that, hey, the healing of the son was the appetizer. The main course was the salvation of the household. And maybe your appetizer, you're considering that the main course, and God's like, uh-uh, I'm just getting started. That's easy, that's light work. I'm I'm over here doing this so I can reach the hearts of men and women that are surrounding you, watching it, seeing it, and they are gonna say, Oh my gosh, I want to serve that God that did that. So, whatever that is in your life today, let's get the right perspective so that we can do like this man and believe before we see, and then we'll have the opportunity to say about our God, look at what the Lord has done. Thanks for hanging out with me in the Word. I hope it encouraged your heart and gave you something to carry into the rest of the week. If it spoke to you, share this with someone who might need it too. And hey, don't forget to follow or to subscribe so you don't miss out on what's next. Until then, keep showing up, keep listening, and let his word lead the way.