Tuesday May 16th, 2023
« I will look to the LORD. I will wait for God to save me. I will wait for my God to listen to me. »
1 A few days later, Jesus entered Capernaum; the people heard that he was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, that there was no room to receive them, not even outside to the door: and he preached the word to them.
3 They came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 Since they could not come near Jesus because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they lowered the bed the sick man was lying on.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the sick to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some scribes were sitting there, thinking to themselves:
7 “Why does this man talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?
8 And immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking within themselves, and said to them: “Why are thinking these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man, ‘your sins are forgiven you’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and walk?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins” so He said to the sick man.
11 I say to you, ‘get up, take up your mat, and go home.
12 And immediately he got up, took his mat and walk in full view of them all. They were all amazed, and praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.
Brethren, its one thing to look up to God and be in a hurry, it’s another thing to look up to Him and patiently wait for response to your request……at His appointed time.
One clear lesson from today’s memory verse is that looking up to God requires waiting patiently on Him.
Speaking on this, the Holy Spirit says in Isaiah 28:16:CW
« “Therefore says the Lord GOD, I am placing a foundation a stone In Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It’s a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on, a sure foundation: whoever believes shall not be in a hurry.” »
In today’s Bible text, we read about four faithful friends who took a paralytic man to Jesus for healing, but because of the huge crowd around the house where Jesus was, they could not reach Him.
Inspired by faith, they looked up to see how they could get their friend to the presence of the Healer, but alas, there was a barrier: the roof.
Spurred on by faith, they resolved to break this barrier in order to gain access to Jesus Christ, and when Jesus saw their faith and determination, He had no choice but to give them what they wanted.
Let’s take a look at some of the many lessons embedded in this great story of faith.
First and foremost, looking up is the first step to solving the issues of life.
Why?
The Almighty God sits over and above all, and with Him there is no impossibility.
Secondly, sin is a barrier that can block you from accessing the presence of the One with the ability to solve your problem (Isaiah 59:1-2).
Just as the friends of the paralytic man had to remove the barrier of the roof before they could access Jesus, the barrier of sin in his life had to be removed also.
That is why before any other thing, Jesus first said to him in Mark 2:5b:NKJV
« “Son, your sins are forgiven.” »
Thirdly, we learn that immediately the paralytic man’s sins were forgiven, he received his healing.
For a user of this devotional battling with one health challenge or the other, if you will remove the spiritual barrier of sin through genuine repentance and turn to Jesus Christ for healing, even before you finish reading today’s study, you will sing a song of victory over that health challenge in Jesus’ Name.
There is this story of a man who was battling with a medical problem that had defied all treatments. In his search for a cure, the Lord revealed that his ailment was caused by his unforgiving stance against his son-in-law who had abused his only daughter. The day he repented and forgave his son-in-law was the day he was healed.
Beloved, I encourage you to look up to Jesus today.
Do not allow your present predicament to make you bow your head down in despair.
As you look up to Jesus, He will show Himself as the ever present Help, and you will sing a new song of victory in Jesus’ Name.
Application: Forgive those who have hurt you in the past, and you will receive healing for your spirit, soul and body.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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