Words of hope for paralyzed minds

Excerpt: What Jesus said to paralyzed men gives me hope for my paralyzed mind. He lets me know I’m known. I find hope to get well once I admit I’m not. I find my worth in His delight not my discipline. So I can swing away.

Jesus says 4 things to the paralytic in John 5. His words to this paralyzed man give me hope for my paralyzed mind.
Perhaps it's possible for me to finally leave my cave of fear, rush the field of battle and slay this giant of passivity!

The first and most helpful thing Jesus said to him was communicated without using any words.

“I see you” 
John 5:3

Jesus saw him lying there and knew he'd been in this condition a long time. John 5:3

Jesus said more to this paralyzed man with His attention than He ever could with words.  For nothing comforts the marginalized like being noticed by someone who actually cares.  Another disabled man who fell through the cracks is the blind man in John 9. Jesus saw him too. For his story, see the post: The God who notices. Here’s an excerpt:
 
“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said..” Jn.9:35  Jesus did what any friend would do. He 'found him'. But why? He’s been healed. His eyes, yes. But his heart is broken. And Jesus loves him too much to leave him alone. Being left alone is what broke his heart in the first place. It broke God's heart too.

Ever feel like your struggles are so complex, no one could ever fully understand you? I do.  What adds to the pressure is that my handicaps are invisible. So it may look to everyone that I have it all together. So how do I explain why I won't swing the bat when everyone has seen me hit homeruns occasionally, yet I pass up many hittable pitches?

Jesus knew he’d been lame for 38 years. Knowing He knows my story is a comfort. It also means He knows how disabled and weak I actually am.  Yet unlike me, He has more hope for my future than I do.

“Do you want to get well?”  
John 5:6

Like this paralyzed invalid, I think Jesus is asking this question of many of us. I know He's asking me. Why does He ask this of us?  For one, most of us are not as ‘well’ as we think. In fact, most of us are more ‘disabled’ than we know.

Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.’ John 5:3

A disability is a lack of ability. We're not able to do what we must. And the handicaps that sabotage us and hinder us most aren't physical handicaps. They're disabilities of the mind and heart. 

I once asked God to show me His heart. Instead He showed me mine. I didn’t like what I saw. But it was against the backdrop of my sin and weakness that I saw His heart. And what a heart! His response to my weakness changed my view of Him.  The fact that He even wants a guy as weak as me says more about His heart than mine. As for mine...

I am broken. Broken things don’t work. I’m spiritually, emotionally and mentally disabled. My heart's turned inward. I love me more than God or you. My motives are selfish. My emotions are a mess. Many foolish choices have shown me I don't think right and I can't trust my mind. Nor can I do what I say I'll do. My will is a slave to sin

I can finally start getting 'well' once I realize I'm not.

I can walk yet be an emotional invalid. Where I don't feel loved, can't give love freely or receive it. I can see 20/20, yet be spiritually blind. Where I don't see God or His beauty all around me. I can't discern the truth or my purpose in life. I'm walking blind. My legs work well,  yet I live paralyzed by fear or held hostage to sinful habits and addictions.

Being disabled is hard. What makes it even harder is: I don’t want to live this way. Yet I can’t seem to change myself. How do I know? I’ve tried a million times and failed each time. Despite my best effort, I cannot 'fix' me. Im disabled.
But I won't accept that diagnosis!  I deny all the evidence and the day after my worst failure, I'll say 'I've got this!"

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  
Jesus to the church of Laodicea  Revelation 3:17

But Jesus offers them and us a heart refined by fire, a robe of righteousness to cover my sin and shame. And salve for my eyes to see. See what? The depth of my sin and the depth of His mercy. How? Both are on full display at the cross.

The other sight my blind heart needs to see is how weak and powerless I am. But it's not something I want to see.
But I must! For what determines if  I'll ever 'get well' is whether or not I think I already am. And the truth is: I'm not.

If I ever hope to change, I must feel the full weight of how helpless I am to change myself. Only then will I seek help.
For it is impossible to live the life God called me to live until I realize how much I need Him to live it.

When my 'new normal' isn't normal

I also need Jesus' question if I see no future beyond my mat. If I see it as my ‘new normal’. I think this paralytic had resigned himself to his ‘fate’. Giving up all hope of ever walking. But Jesus hadn’t. He had other plans. To give him a hope and a future far beyond his mat.  
 
The part about God’s plan for us that we often overlook is the part we ourselves must play. In my previous post, I mentioned the hard work required if we truly want to ‘get well’.  

The miracle of standing to his feet and walking was the easy part. The harder part is not laying back down. G.C. Morgan says one reason Jesus tells him to take up his mat is ‘in order to make no provision for a relapse.’ Faith needs no backup plan 'if it doesn’t work'.  

‘Jack, do you want to get well?’  

There’s another reason I think Jesus asked this question. It's what He wanted. He wants my healing more than I do.
 
My grandson Finley loves trains. I asked him last week if he wanted to go to a train store. He did. So we did.
Did I ask him for his sake or mine? Yes. For I find joy in bringing Finley joy.

I met a near deaf lady once who desperately needed a rare type of expensive hearing aid. I asked her if our church could help her get it. I wanted it for her as much she wanted it. I was as delighted to give it to her as she was to get it.

When Jesus asks if you want to get well, it’s because He wants you well. For your sake and His. He knows how hard it would be to spend another year on a mat. Hoping. So He says...

“Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 
John 5:8

Jesus had a plan for him and this is it. He must take the first step in his own miracle. The
paralytic says he needs someone to help him in the pool once an angel stirs it. I think he was hinting at Jesus to be that helper. We do the same. We have our own plan for 'getting well' and expect God to get on board with it. Jesus ignores his plan and tells him to get up.

And he did! I would have said 'First heal me, then I'll get up'. But it's not how God works.   We know there can't be a miracle unless God does His part. A part we obviously can't do.   But in God’s wisdom, there will also be no miracle unless we do our part. A part we can do.
 
We know Jesus somehow healed his joints, tendons, muscles and nerves so he could walk.
But He also invited him to play a key role in his own miracle. Yet even the step he's asked to take he can't take in his own power . Like him, Jesus  is asking us to do what we can’t do.

Help me do my part. Don't do it for me.

As a parent of adults, I'm learning that sometimes the most loving thing I can do about my child's life dream is nothing. If I ‘make it happen’ for them, I could rob them of the most rewarding part of adulthood. Becoming their own person and finding their own way in life.
 
Imagine a man who’s been lame all his life walking for the first time. By himself. On his own two feet. Any good father would stop carrying him at some point. And let him walk!   
Even if I can heal my son, he must take the lead in learning to walk. I can’t do it for him.
 
Nor will God do it all for me. Yes, He’ll help me. But help me what? Help me do my part.    I play a key role in my recovery. If I live my whole life unable to walk and have a chance to finally walk, you aren’t helping if you keep carrying me. Want to help? Cheer me on.   
 
At one time, British sprinter Derek Redmond was one of the fastest men alive. In the 92’ Olympics, he was moving up in the pack in the 400m relay when his hamstring snapped.

He collapsed but waved away the stretcher. Choosing to limp to the finish line. That's when Dad shows up.
The video shows him pushing past security to help his son finish his race. Even if his Dad could have carried him, I’m glad he didn’t. It was the son’s race to finish.

What’s your part in your miracle story? This man's part is to get up, grab his mat and walk.  For me, it’s choosing to swing away. Knowing I could strike out and yet swinging anyway.  It’s refusing to avoid what I fear. To face it head on. Trusting God with what I can’t control.

Is there any step you need to take that you're avoiding? Are you waiting until you feel a change before you obey Jesus and get up? Are you willing to leave the safety of familiarity and step out despite the risk? You can wait, but what if He’s waiting on you? Like Peter walking on water, the miracle we hope for usually happens once we take a step.

The one thing the paralytic wants to do, he can't. Yet it's what Jesus asks him to do. Get up.

“Stop sinning or something worse may happen"
John 5:14

Life's hard Jesus! Do you have to be so stern? He does if it's true. A caution is a kindness. Love will warn you of danger. What's cruel is to not warn you for fear of appearing cruel.

Jesus cares more about me keeping my integrity than keeping my healing. The condition of my heart matters far more to God than my physical health. In fact, Jesus said it's better to lose my eye or cut off my hand than to cave in to the pull of sin and possibly lose my soul.

I have no idea what the 'something worse' may be. And I don't need to know. Knowing the warning is from Jesus is enough for me to take His caution seriously and deal with my sin.

Can sin paralyze my mind?

So what sin is this man involved in? I don't know and I don't need to know. I only need to know what sin I'm involved in. With this man, Jesus makes a connection between his sin and his illness. But I'd be wrong to build a doctrine on it and say all sickness is due to sin.  The beggar's blindness in John 9 was not caused by sin. Nor can I assume my paralysis is.

Unless it is. Not every problem is caused by sin, but some are. Like pet tigers, the 'pet sins' I tolerate can destroy my life and future. How? They keep me passive. And passivity makes life a lot harder than it needs to be and can threaten my future. Here's a few of my pet sins.

Unbelief & disobedience: I believe in God but don't always believe God. And there is a difference. I may believe God can change a heart. But do I believe He will? Especially mine. If I insist I can't change, my view of God is small. I'll rely on myself and refuse to obey. I'll won't get out of boats, face giants, or pick up mats. For I can't trust the one who told me to.

Laziness: "The desire of the sluggard kills him: for his hands refuse to labor" Prov. 21:2 Lazy men have desires. They just don't act on  them, unless they feel like it. And they don't.

Resistance & Avoidance Resistance is when God pulls me to step out on faith or chase a dream and I fight that pull. Avoidance is hiding from giants I'm afraid of and want to slay.

We all have a ‘mat’. A 'safe place' we retreat to when we just can't seem to make life ‘work’.
We do need safe places but if it’s a hideout to avoid life, it’s not safe. The comfort zone I flee to can become a danger zone. Why? It’s where I give myself permission to settle. For far less than what God wants for me. A place where I feel no pressure to change. So I don’t.

Problem is: I want to change! I don’t want to live this way. I want to leave this cave of fear! 

When my 'safe place' isn't safe

Pam Manley, an entrepreneur reflects back on why she waited so long to finally obey God.
“I've always wondered what kept me from embracing my divine purpose and my calling. I fell victim to what I thought were handicaps, financial constraints, mental limitations and a lot of excuses. Many factors made the leading I felt from God seem overwhelming and improbable crippling me with fear to even engage the assignment of my life."

Notice her safe place. "I felt safe to strive for something comfortable that was not in line with the call of God. It was not as challenging, and demanding.  The fear of doing what God wanted me to do  pressured me to engage in an assignment that was not my call.”

I do that. I 'accept' my mental paralysis as 'my lot in life' and give up my dream of walking. 
Jesus knows this about me. He knows I want to walk and how I try to deny it or bury it. Moved by love, he says 'Stop doubting! Stop fearing your giant! Pick up your mat! Walk!'

I want to close with another message Jesus said to a different paralytic in Mark 2. He was let down through a roof by friends so Jesus can heal him. What Jesus said to this paralyzed man who can’t use his legs, He says to me, when my paralyzed mind can’t activate my will.

 "Be encouraged! Your sins are forgiven!"
Matthew 9:2

If He said it to me, I’d say ‘Seriously!? It’s not forgiveness I need. I need my legs to work! Why bring up forgiveness? It’s quite obvious that what I need is healing. It’s why I came.’ But it's not why He came. He knows that what I need most isn't new legs to walk. I need a new motive for wanting to. For right now, my view of an invalid is a person that's in-valid.

Jesus did heal him. But not before meeting his real need. To be forgiven and loved as he is.
Why is the sense of being forgiven so critical for the paralyzed? (Whether in body or mind)  I’ll speak for me. I still fight passivity and indecision. Why do I need to hear these words?

Because the #1 reason I struggle with procrastination and indecision is my fear of failure.
Having failed so many times, what I fear most is failing again. So I put stuff off. I don’t try.  Why? Because if I were to try my best and then fail again, it’ll just confirm my worst fear.
That I don’t have what it takes to be a man. At least not the kind of man I really want to be.

So I still try to find my identity in what I do or prove my worth by how well I do. But if I keep trying to make myself right before God by effort alone, it shows I think I can. I don’t need mercy or a redeemer to atone for my sin or give me His righteousness as a gift. I can be righteous on my own and atone for my own sin. I reject His offer because "I've got this".

My deepest need is to see my deep need for God.

Far greater than my need to walk is my need of grace. But grace only comes to those who see their need of it. Who admit they can’t change and trust God to do what they can’t do for themselves. Who stop striving to be good enough and rest in His gift of righteousness.

Striving makes life on the mat miserable. Why? I have to walk! If I can’t walk, I can’t work. Or do anything. And if I can’t work, I can’t prove to God, myself or you that I do have something to offer the world. That I’m not as worthless or insignificant as I’ve always felt.

But if that’s the reason I’m so desperate to walk, it’d be better if I didn’t. At least not yet. Not until my sense of worth rests on His view of me. Not mine. So what is His view of me?

I have a memento that sums it up. I keep it close so I can see it often. I'm looking at it now.

God often pulls me to Psa 149:4,5. To say ‘Jack, I delight in you! Find your sense of worth
in that. Not in your spiritual growth or how good you are or what you make of yourself.'

If I know I’m loved and forgiven, I don’t need to validate myself by how many homers I hit. I can swing away and not be paralyzed by my fear of striking out. Nor be devastated if I do.
If I ask God for a million dollars, I better ask Him for the wisdom to use it. Or I’ll regret it. 
If I ask God for new legs to walk, I also need a new reason to. A new motive for getting up.

if God frees you from passivity, what will you do with your new ability to live deliberately?

Caution: Don’t use your drive, decisiveness or determination to prove your worth to God, to others and especially to yourself. If your sense of worth is based on how much you do or how intentional you become, you will still never become good enough to feel good enough.

And God will resist you at every turn. For pride makes us self-reliant. It blinds us to our need of God. So He resists the proud who try to prove themselves good enough. But He gives grace to the humble. Who trust in what God does for them, not what they do for Him.

Unless I find my worth in how God sees me, I won't find it at all. But if I see me as He does and rest in His love, the fear of failure has no hold on me. I'm free to 'swing for the fences'. 

So I want to invite you to not merely think about living deliberately. But to actually do it.  Identify an action step you need to take. Do what you tend to avoid. Or what scares you.  Make that call. Have that talk. Slay a giant. Swing away! Get up, grab your mat and walk!

‘It’s easier to act our way into a new way of thinking
than to think our way into a new way of acting.’
Millard Fuller