Sometimes you just need to follow God and allow yourself to break away from normal.
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” (John 5:8-11)
When we see this situation unfold, your eyes and attention should automatically be drawn to the statement made by the Jewish leaders: “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” You’re drawn to it because Jesus did something for this man that nobody else could– he healed the paralyzed man and gave him strength to walk. But the people around Jesus wanted to harp on what the man was doing now that he was able to do something of his own accord.
Every time we feel inadequate and unable to do for ourselves, Jesus intervenes and heals us. He takes our brokenness, our hurt, our failures, and our shortcomings to provide new opportunities and second chances on our circumstances. When he does so, he also tells us to go against the grain of society, do things that are out of the ordinary, to edge closer to him in obedience and show the world that you will do things that are not normal because the power of Jesus that heals you and gives you the freedom to walk.
Today is an opportunity for you to pick up your “mat” (which is the very thing you have been using to find some comfort, relief, and crutch in the world and society that broke you), and walk. The world may tell you that you shouldn’t move off your crutch and comfort, but Jesus commands us to pick it up and walk. You need to break away from normal.
No responses yet