Challenge of a rooftop!
Verse for Today: Friday, March 23, 2012
Luke 5:19 – When they could not find a way (to Jesus) because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered the paralytic on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
Our faith is often tested by hindrances which stand on our way forward. If our faith is weak, it is likely that we get discouraged and withdraw from our path rather than go forward to newer vistas of leading by God. That is why we need to ask Jesus to increase our faith just as the disciples did. The faith of the relatives of the paralytic is a reprimand to all the skeptics who were in the crowd. The effort they took to sideline the hindrances is commendable. even when crowd and the house itself blocked them from reaching Jesus to meet their urgent needs. They knew that if only they reached Jesus, their needs would be met without the shadow of doubt. Their faith was so strong that the crowd and the house didn’t pause any more hindrance to them, but it was seen as opportunity. Their faith led them to the necessity to look for a new way to reach Jesus. They didn’t bother about the consequences of breaking open the roof of the house and the damages their ‘faith’ would cause the house owner. Their desperate faith found a way to reach Jesus. No matter what hindrances we might find on our way to exercise our faith today, Jesus wants to challenge us to take giant steps to overcome the hindrances to reach Him. Jesus wants us to avail the opportunities that are in front of us rather than retreat because of the hindrances.
Dear reader, are you getting discouraged about the hindrances you face today in your life of faith? Are circumstances, people and things posing roadblocks for you to go forward? When your faith is challenged, you need to exercise your trust in the Lord and go forward in the ways that the Lord shows you. The problems you face in your home, workplace, neighborhood, school or church might discourage you and compel you to stop or retreat. But you have to overcome the hindrances by faith. Take a cue from these men who carried a hopelessly sick person to Jesus and how they defeated the circumstances, people and things to reach Jesus. Their faith was such that the Lord Jesus commended them for it. You must defeat doubt, confusions, circumstances and roadblocks by faith. You need not be concerned about the consequences your outright faith would cost others because the Lord would turn it around to be a great challenge to them. Your faith will speak loudly to others around and make them also approach Jesus for their life-linked problems. When you thus trust the Lord without regard to consequences, your Lord will perform miracles in the lives of others. Why don’t we take our spiritually paralytic kith and kin to Jesus so that He can release them from their spiritual sickness. If you know of people or circumstances that would need a touch of Jesus, it is time you take it to Him. Jesus will make radical change in any of our situations if we take it to Him and place it right in front of Him. He already knows your situation and has a plan to intervene in your scenario to make it right, but would like to give you the opportunity to exercise your faith about it. He will meet your challenge and make mends in the areas of burden in your heart.
John 11: 40 – Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
Thought for Today
When our situations pull us back from approaching Jesus, let us exercise our faith and force the walls of hindrance open to go to Jesus to present our needs to Him.
For further spiritual help and prayer support, write to: [email protected]
