by Nick Miller

Do you realize that Christ wants to use you in His rescue mission?

Christ’s ministry on earth was filled with miraculous stories, events that couldn’t be possible with human strength or will alone. He was so in tune with the Holy Spirit that when He spoke impossible events would occur.

Simply laying His hand on you would bring about the miraculous. There was even a woman who simply touched Jesus’ robe and was healed of her sickness of over 10 years. From feeding thousands of people, to seeing a man breathe again after being buried, miracles followed Jesus wherever He went.

All of these miracles happened so that the Good News would be spread across the earth, that the Savior of the world was here to rescue a broken humanity.

There was a man who experienced this miraculous power of Jesus. Jesus was preaching in this town, and some of his friends heard that a miracle worker was stopping to teach and heal people. This paralytic man and his friends began to travel to a small house where Jesus was, only to find that the house was jam packed.

Without a way to enter the building, the four friends of this paralytic man begin to jump on the roof, cut a hole through the shingles, and lower him in front of Jesus. Jesus begins to address the crowd and heal this man inside and out:

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” – Luke 5:20

Unfortunately, there was a group of people called the Pharisees that would continually challenge Jesus’ teaching. They begin to question if Jesus can truly forgive this broken man, if He is truly God. Jesus proves to the crowd that He is indeed the Son of Man by not only healing the paralyzed man’s heart, but also his body:

“I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” – Luke 5:24-25

This man who lived on this mat for years was finally set free! He could stand and start living the life that he was designed to live. The man could find an occupation, start a family, meet with friends at their home, trade in the market, and even walk into the synagogue. What a gift that Jesus had given this man.

However, did you notice how this man began his healing process? He wasn’t capable of going to Jesus himself, it was his friends that committed themselves to his future miracle. When his friends heard that Jesus was in town they did whatever they could to assist the paralyzed man. They carried the four corners of his mat, walked him to a random house, pulled him to the top of a roof, created a sizable hole for him to fit through, and finally lowered him into Jesus’ presence.

This was no small event, but rather an extraordinary commitment to this paralyzed man. They would do anything to get Him close to Jesus! Why would they go through all of this trouble to assist this paralyzed man? They knew that Jesus would heal him!

They wholeheartedly believed that Jesus would perform a miracle that had never been seen before. They had faith. They had not experienced or seen Jesus perform miracles before, but they believed that He could heal their paralyzed friend. Jesus saw their faith, their belief in Him, and healed this man.

Christ’s heart hasn’t changed since this miracle, He still desires to do the impossible in this world! He wants to heal us when we are physically sick. He wants to free us from the addictions that destroy our heart. He wants to give us a sound mind. He wants to mend our relationships with one another. He still wants to move!

Are there people in your life that need to see the impossible happen? How many mats can you help carry? Christ wants to partner with you you to help people stand for the first time in years!

The miraculous is activated even in the most hopeless of situations when you take a step of faith. Those who are broken in your life are waiting for you to grab a corner of their mat, to carry them to the place where they can receive true healing. Remember, it is not you who can do the healing, but Christ who can completely heal the broken inside and out.

If we know that He can do impossible things, we will be committed to walking whatever distance, shouldering whatever burden, digging through whatever roof to help those around us.

I want to be a part a community that is willing to do whatever it takes to see people walk home with their mat in their hands!

photo: unsplash.com