“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.” -Luke 5:18-19
In this familiar passage about Jesus healing the paralyzed man, we read in verse 19, “when they could not find a way…” The men carrying the paralyzed man were not deterred by the barriers and obstacles that kept them from getting to Jesus. They creatively thought of an option to accomplish their goal by cutting a hole in the roof and lowering the man to Jesus.
I must confess that I’ve occasionally sat through a church service and wondered how I would react if suddenly people were cutting a hole in the ceiling! Can you imagine the mess that would make? And how scared we would all be sitting down below? But, I have always admired the creativity of the men who decided to make a hole in the roof, so they could find healing for a friend.
Sometimes “finding a way” means that we must look beyond the normal, ordinary and regular approaches to life and seek new ways of thinking, acting or believing in order to experience what God has in store for us. For example, think about the creative ways that our church family has dreamed up to reach children through after-school programs. Most of us would never be able to reach hundreds of children with God’s love and hope on our own. It requires each one of us giving our talents and gifts and time and prayers to bless lives.
The next time you are frustrated with a problem or situation, take it to God and ask Him to help you “find a way.” Trust God to give you new ideas, new opportunities or new resources to “find a way.” And when you get discouraged along the way, reach out to others in your family of faith and together we can creatively think of ways to work through the barriers or obstacles that we face in life.
Prayer: Dear God, grant me the creativity and openness to tackle problems in my life and the world around me trusting that you will give me direction for myself and others to find the way. Amen.
-Rev. Phil Greenwald, Executive Pastor of Administration
