Matthew: Healing in His PresenceSample

Healing the Mute

Have you ever had someone try to convince you that the special thing God did in your life was just a coincidence? Hear me out on this. I'm talking about the medical scan you prayed about, or the lifting of depression off of you, the job offer that came out of nowhere, or that answered prayer for provision when you didn't have any hope. You may have believed that God did it, but there are people in our lives that want to steal our joy. They may even try to make you think that God wasn't a part of your miracle.

Today's story has a little bit of that going on in the form of the audience seeing the miracle. Picture the scene here. Someone brings a demon-possessed mute man to Jesus, hoping He can heal him. Again, someone had to bring this guy to Jesus. It doesn't say he sought out his healing. Jesus drives the demon out of the guy and then he starts speaking. This would have been a miracle the crowd would not forget.

Now imagine what he says for the first time! I’m sure he had a lifetime of things to say in that moment. It must have been a sight. The crowd says, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

But there are a few people in the crowd that are joy stealers. They actually accuse Jesus of working for Satan, because they think there is no way this man could be the Son of God or heal by His own authority.

There's a big lesson here for us. Who are you allowing to be in your inner circle as you heal? Is it people praying for and believing with you for your healing? Remember the "mat carriers" we learned about with the paralytic being lowered down the roof? You need those people with you as you heal!

Questions:

1. Who in your life celebrates your miracles with you and points you back to Jesus, and who tends to downplay or explain them away?

2. When God answers a prayer in your life, how do you protect that testimony from the “joy stealers” around you?

3. Who are the “mat carriers” in your life right now—and how can you be that kind of faith-filled friend for someone else?