Encouragement for Today

July 19, 2024 Get to Jesus by Any Means Necessary SHALA W. GRAHAM Lee en español

“And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.” Luke 5:25 (NLT)

Growing up in a military and football family, I had the phrase “make a hole” ingrained in my mind from all the war movies Daddy watched and all the peewee and high school football games my brothers played. The Navy kid in me knows when someone is running toward you and tells you to “make a hole,” it means, “Get out of the way!”

Sometimes I want to bring that sharp command back into my lexicon, but the Holy Spirit reminds me to be gentle and kind.

We find both kindness and the idea of “making a hole” in Luke 5, in an interesting story of a paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through the roof of a home to get him to Jesus.

“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, ‘Young man, your sins are forgiven’” (Luke 5:18-20, NLT).

This paralyzed man and his devoted friends made a literal hole to get their guy into the end zone. They knew the assignment! They saw they couldn’t get in by conventional methods because the crowds were blocking the path to Jesus. So they ran a creative play through the roof and put the paralyzed man right in front of Jesus by any means necessary!

We may be tempted to focus only on the faith of the friends in this story, but let's not discount the faith of the paralyzed man. He was the one on the bed being lowered through a roof. We see no sign of him resisting. Instead, we can interpret that when Jesus saw “their faith” (Luke 5:20, NLT), this included the faith of the man on the mat. Jesus healed this man and forgave his sins, as He did for others in Scripture based on their personal faith (Matthew 9:22; Matthew 9:28-29; Matthew 15:28; etc.). Because of his faith, I believe the paralyzed man was “all in” on making a hole in the roof!

This man wanted to be healed. His friends shared his faith and conviction to get him the help he needed. Check out what happened when Jesus told him to pick up his mat and go home: “Immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God” (Luke 5:25). There was no delay in his obedience. He jumped up because he believed he could.

Friend, when it comes to getting to Jesus, you, too, can cry out, “Make a hole!” and run toward Him, the source of your healing.

Father, help us remove any obstacles to get to Jesus — whether that’s our schedule, to-do list, work, exhaustion, false teaching, church hurt or something else. And when we get to Him, may our obedience and healing be swift. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Our Favorite Things:

Do you ever find yourself skipping over parts of Scripture that feel far removed from your reality or hard to understand? We know how tempting that is. But what if by avoiding things like prophecies, visions and supernatural occurrences, we’re actually missing out on the very thing we’re coming to the Bible for: assurance of God’s ability to move in our lives? We’ve thoughtfully put together a new study guide, Daniel: Finding Confidence That God’s Power Is at Work, to help you better understand complex parts of Scripture and experience God’s active presence in your life. Get your study guide, and join us in the free First 5 app on July 22!

ENGAGE

Visit Shala W. Graham’s website, Calling Qualified Ministries, to access free resources that will help you activate your spiritual calling. You can also find Shala on Instagram for everyday reminders of God’s unlimited truths.

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (NLT).

How badly do you want to get to Jesus? How might you “make a hole” for a friend to get to Him? How might you ask your friends to “make a hole” for you?

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments.

© 2024 by Shala W. Graham. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org