Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.
We all feel overwhelmed at times. We seem unable to move forward, stuck. We know that the power of Jesus is with him for healing but we have trouble even going out to find him. He seems distant from us and hard to approach.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd
It is good to have friends who will help when we feel like we can't move forward on our own. It is important to be persistent when we bring any need to Jesus. If these men gave up at the door neither they nor their friend would be blessed in the way they are. Let's make friends with the angels and saints so that we always have people to help to bring us to Jesus when we ourselves are weak.
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
"As for you, your sins are forgiven."
These men think they are here for the paralysis of their friend. But they find that when they come to Jesus they all receive from him. They all need holiness so that they may take the "holy way" and "enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy". Jesus alone can give them this holiness. He does, without them even realizing they needed it. The paralysis of the man being healed and his being able to walk are now simple signs for the deeper thing that has happened. These men can now follow the holy way, Jesus, who himself is the way, the truth, and the light.
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
So maybe we're stuck. Maybe we're paralyzed. But maybe the healing we really need isn't the healing we think we want. Maybe it is a lot deeper. That is what Jesus has in store for us today. These words of encouragement to be strengthened are to us. As Jesus says "rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home" we find ourselves filled with renewed strength. Let us use it to help others without strength of their own come to Jesus for healing.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
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