.....are you willing, even if it means no?

Matthew 8 (Amplified Version)

¹WHEN JESUS came down from the mountain, great throngs followed Him.

²And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to ^a]">[a]cleanse me by curing me.

³And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed ^b]">[b]by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.

I personally love this story in the bible, it is really a lesson of true worship. I'm really moved by the word "willing", to me this suggests, waiting and perseverance. I could just imagine how much this man had to wait and go through just to see Jesus. We have to go back in history to understand just how bad it was a person with leprosy. People with leprosy were usually ostracized from society, many were shipped off to far lands, caves or islands. So lets think for a minute, how did this man slip by unnoticed, I'm sure with the news of Jesus coming, Roman soldiers would have been on crowd control, as well as the Pharisees. Can you imagine having open soars all over your body, waiting in the heat of the middle east, covered head to toe, smelling of infection, just to see if Jesus was "willing" to heal you? Well this man did, if there is anyone in my opinion who could complain and simply ask " heal me" it was him, but instead he prostrates himself and worships. This man recognized who Jesus was, and who he was to Jesus(think about that). Notice that this man humbled himself(act of faith that Jesus was the true son of God), worshiped, and then told Jesus his petition. Lets not miss the important point here, he said "if you are willing", signifying that regardless of the outcome he was going to continue worshiping Jesus, even if he was unwilling! I believe this story is teaching us that God wants more worship, our needs are important to him, but there is no better place than his presence during worship! We need to worship regardless of the outcome!

Psalm 84:10 (New International Version)

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Lets spend more time in worship, it is there where we will receive rest, fullness of joy, and his perfect will.