Your heart is in that little room tonight, isn't it? The bright lights, the hushed voices, the beeping monitors, and that small, hot forehead you long to see cool and peaceful again. A fever of ### in a ###-year-old, it catches the breath and makes the whole world narrow down to a single bed, a single precious child. I want you to know this: the Lord Jesus who entered Peter’s house and stood over a woman burning with fever is the very same Lord who draws near to your grandson now. He does not change, and His tender power has not dimmed with the passing of centuries. He is able to rebuke a fever with a word, to take a little hand in His, and to lift a child up whole and strong.
When the news of that fever reached you, perhaps it felt like a dark envelope delivered to your door. But look again, and you will see that the seal is stamped with a promise. Our wise and loving God often sends His choicest mercies riding into our lives on the back of a trial. I am not saying the sickness is good in itself, it is an enemy, but I am saying that when Jesus comes with it, you need not be terrified at its approach. He will not hold Himself aloof from your anxiety. He comes with His great sympathetic heart to be afflicted in your affliction. Tell Him all about it. Spread the whole case before Him: the numbers on the thermometer, the weariness in the child’s eyes, the ache in your own spirit. He listens; He bends low; He cares.
You remember the paralyzed man who was let down through the ceiling by his friends? His healing began with a word of forgiveness, because the deepest trouble is always the one we cannot see. But your grandson’s need is visible and urgent, and Jesus is not slow to answer. The power of the Lord Jesus is pre-eminently a power to heal. He did not come brandishing an avenging rod but stretching out pierced hands to mend what is broken. He is the Tree of Life with leaves for the healing of the nations, and one leaf from His hand can bring down the hottest fever and restore the frailest frame.
Old promises are not for old times only. What God spoke to Jacob, “I am with you and will keep you”, He speaks this very hour to you, as you pace the corridor or sit in the plastic chair by the bedside. He has said it, and He means it. That is a banknote you can take to the counter. That is a tree you can cast into these bitter waters, and they will grow sweet. Do not think it a small thing to lean your whole weight on that word. Your grandson’s little frame is precious, but his Maker is more tender still. The One who formed the ear, can He not hear? The One who fashioned the body, can He not mend?
So steady yourself, dear heart. The fever has not taken Jesus by surprise. He is in the room. He is standing over the bed. In a moment, when He wills, the heat will flee and strength will return. Until then, your prayers are not falling on deaf ears. They are the hands that lower your beloved through the roof into the presence of the Healer. Keep bringing him there. Keep telling Jesus about him. And know that whether the answer comes in an instant or through the slow, faithful work of doctors and medicine, the Lord is at your side, and He will not fail you.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, our great Physician, we bring this little lamb before You now. You know his name, his face, his every breath. Stand over him as You did in that Galilean home. Rebuke this fever. Take him by the hand and lift him up to full health and bright play again. Calm the hearts of those who love him. Let them feel Your nearness as a steadying arm in the dark. We trust You with this child, for You are the Resurrection and the Life, and You love him better than any of us can. Restore him, we ask, for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.