Faithbase

Ashes to Beauty, Day 3. The Beings, or the Background. After Jesus heals the centurion's servant from yesterday's story, he moves on and heals his close friend and disciple, Peter's mother-in-law. The Verse, Matthew Chapter 8, Verses 14-15. When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. The Steam. What does this mean to me and how can I apply it to my life today? Don't worry. I am not going to ask you to wait on anyone. The wife and mother inside of me cringes at the mention of waiting on someone because that is my life. The second you set your feet on the floor in the morning, you are on, attending to the needs of others until you finally get to rest your head at night. I was taken aback as I read this verse for the first time, thinking, the second this poor woman feels better, she is up waiting on everybody else. What's up with that? However, getting past those feelings a moment, I have to realize that there is great insight there. Now, in our world today, when Jesus isn't walking around in the flesh, a lot of times he answers prayers for us, but we don't pause to realize or appreciate it. It's so easy to dismiss an answered prayer as happenstance. We claim everything just worked out. While we may struggle to truly see Jesus as the one who answered our prayers, there's no mistaking it was him in today's story. Peter's mother-in-law knew he was the one who had healed her. So out of this indescribable appreciation for her life that he had just restored, she jumps up excited and enthusiastic to go about her work. Peter's mother-in-law didn't just experience an answered prayer. She tasted the sweet love that Jesus has for her. She witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit and simply couldn't wait to share that with others. When we receive our answers to prayer, out of devotion, appreciation, and love for Jesus, we should seek to shine his light to those around us as well. May we become women of faith who take the time to see his answers and appreciate them, praising him for hearing us, before we just move on to the next request. Like Peter's mother-in-law, may we also cherish the gift of another day, another opportunity to serve and love the people entrusted to our lives.