Stay connected to someone who is persistent

June 26-27

Stay connected to someone who is persistent

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, the uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. Mark 2:4

Imagine again with me how this all went down – “The men had an idea, ‘Hey! Our friend is sick’ Why don’t we get him to Jesus and see if Jesus will heal him.” They get a mat, place him on it, and they carry him through town to where they heard Jesus was staying. But then when they arrive the house is crammed. People everywhere, wall to wall it’s filled.  Luke tells us that “they tried to take him inside to Jesus” (Luke 5:18, NLT). They probably barged their way in with the mat to no avail. “Excuse me, we are trying to get this man to Jesus.” But no one would budge and so they decided to tear the roof off because nothing was going to stop them. You know why? Because they had a persistent faith. They were convinced Jesus could do something and they were going to get this man to Jesus one way or another.  We all need someone in our lives with this kind of faith – a persistent faith.

There are times in each of our lives when the world dishes out too much. Trial after trial, chaos after chaos, discomfort and headaches. In these moments we all need someone who is persistent to keep us going. We all need someone in our corner with a faith that truly believes that Christ is the only way, someone to be inventive! Someone who is justified and knows that faith will find a way.

What I love most about this story is in verse 4. Mark tells us, “They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, but nowhere does it say they quit ,they gave up, they went home or they sat outside waiting and hoping they would get to see Jesus… no, no, no! Mark tells us their persistence leads to creativity. These four men once again became resourceful and innovative. They had an Esther time mindset saying, if we perish we perish but we must get our friend to Jesus.

What does this mean for the follower of Christ?

One, we will face situations that will feel like the end and in these moments we may want to give up. But if only we had someone in our corner encouraging us, cheering us on to keep going because victory is just on the other side. Two, persistence is like pushing against a large rock God ordered us to push but doesn’t move by half a millimeter. After years of pushing we conclude, we have failed because the rock never moved. Such thoughts are grave mistakes because we are called only to push the rock not to move it. God is the one who will move the rock and He will do it in His own time. Lastly, when you pray do not cease to P.U.S.H (Pray Until Something Happens). It is important that we keep praying, keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. Jesus emphasized the importance of persistent prayer in his parable about the widow and the unjust Judge, (Luke 18:1-8). And when we’ve come to the end of ourselves, it is important that we are connected to someone who can carry us the rest of the journey.

So let’s ask ourselves, who are we connected to? Who is in need of our connection? Depending on the season you are in, you either need someone’s help or someone is in desperate need of your help. Either way, let us remember God is our Source and outside of Him we can do nothing.