“Some men came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.”
Mark 2:3
People suffering from physical paralysis are often condemned to live in solitude. This is forced upon them because, faced with a busy lifestyle, most people don’t get time to visit. It’s clear in this story that the paralyzed man had four friends who understood Jesus was the only one who had the ability to heal him. This man’s paralysis had probably dented his faith. However, his four friends became his hands and feet and set out to overcome every obstacle with the sole intent of obtaining the healing he needed. They were moved by compassion. caring for him and identifying with him in his situation. They were highly motivated, and would not let anything put them off. They looked for a solution and were determined to motivate their friend with their words so that he too could see what they saw. They didn’t care what others thought of them boldly carrying him to the meeting on their shoulders. When they saw the crowd and that there was no way to get close to Jesus, they climbed up onto the roof. Cutting a hole in it, they lowered the paralyzed man down to meet Jesus face-to-face. The Lord was amazed with the faith demonstrated by this man’s four friends and was moved to completely heal him.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Years ago, I was at a convention in the city of Mexico. While I was meeting with some Pastors in that city, three of my daughters were talking with a young girl. She was a Pastor’s daughter who had attended the conference. The eighteen-year-old young girl was in a wheel chair. As my daughters were talking to her, their hearts were moved by her condition. Then, two of them entered the room where I was. Without even thinking twice, they brought me to where the girl was and they told me, “Daddy, please pray for her now.” All of the attention in that meeting was now centered on this young girl. I came alongside her and for about five minutes explained to her how she could receive healing in her body. She understood every word I spoke. Then, after guiding her to repeat a prayer of faith, I commanded her to get up and do what she had never been able to do before. With a lot of courage, she stood up and began to walk. Everyone in the room was left astounded by the way that God had answered our prayer. I saw that compassion had been born in my daughters´ hearts. Even though they had only just met this girl, immediately they felt her need and were moved by her condition. Imagining themselves in that situation, they thought, “What if that was me in that condition? I would make my dad pray for theme.” It was compassion that moved them, not any intention to interrupt the meeting. Their interruption enriched the faith of all who were present. We all know people who are paralyzed by circumstances, and those of us who know Jesus are the only ones able to help them. This takes effort. However, it is worth it.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I have compassion, motivation and grace to take Jesus to all of those in need.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume One.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
