From Paralyzed to Forgiven and Healed

Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd,
they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it
and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man,
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Mark 2:3-5

Friends.  What would we do without our friends?  The man in our Scripture today would not have been able to receive his healing had his friends not put their faith into action…and been willing to get help for their friend.  We are not told whether the man had been paralyzed for a long or a short time; we just know that he was paralyzed.

Do you have such love for a friend—in which you would go to that much trouble for them?  If not, then we really need to look at our friend list and see who God would direct us to help.

As we walk through life we will have many friends…those who we went to school with, those we make through work, and those we make through just simply living.  Some of us have friends we have made through our life experiences.  And often, our best friend is our spouse or our siblings.

And then we have those people in our lives who do not make friends easily and keep everyone at arm’s length—who do not let anyone close due to life’s struggles.  That is a painful way to go through life and is not what God intended for His children.  He wants us to love others and bring them into a closer relationship with Him.  This cannot be done if we continue to put people off. We have to learn to trust and use the discernment God gave us to know who to let get close.

Our friends are those who are by our side no matter what the season.  They may not be able to be there physically, but still are there as they pray and submit requests to God on our behalf when we are going through suffering or a time of testing.  We are also to be there for them, lifting them up and being honest with them when needed.

But remember, our earthly friends are human.  They are subject to the pulls and tears of this world.  Our true Friend is our heavenly Father.  He will never leave us, never forsake us…no matter what we have done, said, or thought.  When we confess with our mouth, repent, and turn away from our sins, God is sure to show us mercy through His Son Jesus.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Father, thank You for Your mercy.  Thank You for Your grace.  Father, teach us to be better friends, better wives, and better daughters.  Teach us to be intercessory prayer warriors on behalf of our family and friends.   Thank You for giving us great examples who we model our prayers after. Thank You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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