Try Something Else!

Luke 5:17–26 (NIV)
17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But 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.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Many people struggle to find a time to come before God. They have good intentions, and they even make plans, but all too often there are things crowding us that stop us from really being able to draw near to Jesus. If they were asked, “What else can you do?” They would likely struggle to find an answer that works. In fact, after trying many things they get discouraged, give up trying, and surrender to the idea that, “It’s just not possible in this season of life.”

In Luke’s account of the paralysed man, we see something incredible. His dedicated and supportive friends were totally committed to bringing him before Jesus to get his healing. I can imagine all the planning that went into this day. They found out when and where Jesus would be in town. They arranged a stretcher to carry him on, they carried him through town to the location only to find others had arrived before them. It wasn’t that people didn’t want them to encounter Jesus, it’s that they couldn’t. Others had needs as well. They were all there. The whole town, it seemed, was crowded into that one house to meet Jesus, and there was no way they were going to get in. The doors were blocked, the windows were blocked, and maybe even the street was blocked…

But I love their dedication. They knew Jesus had the answer and rather than giving up, they thought outside the box, and dragged this poor guy up onto the roof, still strapped to his bed, made a hole in the roof, and lowered the man down, right in front of Jesus. They didn’t give up. They knew Jesus was the answer and so they did everything necessary to get this man right before His face.

Jesus is the answer for us and we need to be doing everything we can to come face to face with Him. If what you are doing isn’t working, then try something different. If the kids wake up early, get up earlier; or go to bed later. Turn off the TV. Go for a walk. Take time in your lunch break. Be willing to try anything! If you just can’t see a way to do it, ask God to show you. But be prepared to follow through when He does, because He wants to spend time with you as well.

A great example of someone who thought outside the box is Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley. She not only had 10 children (9 of the 19 she gave birth to died), she had a very difficult life and things were far from easy, but she understood too well the need for time with God, so she would bring her Bible to her favourite chair and throw her long apron up over her head, and spend 2 hours a day in His presence. Her children knew that when mum was under the apron, she was with God and was not to be disturbed except in the case of the direst emergency.

Did it pay off? Well, you look at the fruit of her times with God. John and Charles Wesley were two of her sons. John Wesley is said to have preached to nearly a million people in his lifetime. He founded the Methodist Church and was said to have “supplied a new starting point to modern religious history”. His brother Charles was a brilliant musician and lyricist and wrote more than 6,600 hymns, many of which are still in hymnals the world over today. So yes, her prayers paid off.

Prayer changes things. Time in God’s presence changes things. So above everything else that happens in your day, make time before Jesus your most important priority of the day.

If you’ve tried everything, try something else. Do whatever is necessary to get before His face, because that is where you will find your miracle and the devil knows that all too well.

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