Do Whatever It Takes
By: Tiffany Thibault
They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. - Mark 2:4 (NLT)
I want friends like the man in this story in Mark. Though his friends accepted his handicap, they loved him so much that they wanted better for him. They wanted him to dance at their weddings, walk in the fields with them, and discuss the scriptures on the way to worship. His friends had heard about this man named Jesus who raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and made the lame walk. They decided that today would be the day that their friend would be healed. Today their friend was going to walk.
They picked up their friend, lying on his mat and carried him over to the house where Jesus was. The whole town appeared to have also shown up! The friends stood there for a moment. There was absolutely no way that they would be able to even get into the house as they viewed the huge crowd blocking the door. They knew that they had to do something different. So up to the roof they went, cut a hole in the roof and lowered their friend down into the room and laid him at the feet of Jesus. There were no limits in their mind of them doing whatever it would take to bring their friend to Jesus.
I went through a season recently where I felt like I couldn’t move, where each day was full of mental exhaustion and each night I tossed and turned, unable to sleep, drained emotionally from all that my days were bombarding me with. I would go to church, I would pray, I would read the Bible, deeply longing for a fresh touch from the Lord.
It was during this dry spiritual season that I met another lady at church. We decided to meet at the beach to walk and pray, lifting each other’s needs before the Lord. To hear someone else bringing your needs before the Lord is truly heart-changing. This new friend and I tried to do our prayer walk every couple of weeks for the rest of that school year. As the weeks passed, my circumstances became resolved. My faith grew fresher. My prayers grew stronger. My hope was being restored.
During these months, I continued to pray by myself, but having this new friend also beseech heaven for my needs, was so humbling, yet so incredibly powerful. It reminds me of this verse from Colossians 1:9-10: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
We need others to walk alongside us through the ups and downs of this life. We need others to bring us to the feet of Jesus. Though I strongly believe the promise of these words found in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and you will find me, when you seek me with all your heart’, I do know that there are times of desperation, brokenness, and stress when we also need the strength of a faith friend to bring us to the feet of Jesus.
Moses needed Hur and Aarons hands holding his arms up during the battle. (Exodus 17:12)
Ruth and Naomi both needed each other to get through a very difficult season together. (Ruth)
The injured man needed the Good Samaritan to carry him to a place of safety and healing. (Luke 10:25-37)
The disciple Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus. (John 1:41)
Galatians 6:2 says that we are to “carry each others burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” Is there anyone in your life right now who needs you to come along and carry them to the feet of Jesus?
When someone is in the trenches of despair, sometimes just seeing a hand reaching out to them means all the difference in their lives physically and spiritually. Pray for the Lord to open your eyes to who He wants you to reach out to. It's very likely that many in your circle are hurting and need a fresh touch from Jesus.
Will you join me today in looking for someone whom you can bring to the feet of Jesus? Let’s be the ones who will do whatever in our efforts to restore lives and bring souls to the Lord today. Those friends in our story damaged someone's roof to lay their friend at Jesus’ feet. Their heart was in the right place, so I know that after their rejoicing party dance, that they also repaired that roof, their healed friend right at their side helping them make the roof brand new. Jesus’ touch brings new roofs, fresh hearts and changed lives.
Tiffany Thibault enjoys living life with her husband, two daughters and one very large dog. She not only homeschools her girls, but she also loves to write about Jesus and speak about Him with other women. She loves long walks, coffee and anything chocolate.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington, Andrea Bocelli, Reba McEntire, Mark Wahlberg, Tony Dungy, and Matthew McConaughey—what do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their stories of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
