When Jesus saw four men lower their paralysed friend through the roof, the Bible says ‘Jesus saw their faith.’
Today we look at the visible active faith that impressed Jesus so much and I’ll suggest 5 possible ways our faith can also be seen.
In our healing journeys, how can we ensure that we have the active faith that these guys had?
Do we need to impress Jesus with our faith? What does faith without works is dead mean?
“JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH”
Despite how this miracle looks, I don’t believe we need to impress God with our faith. You see, Jesus was a man, a human being.
I believe we need active faith before men, not God. He sees our hearts, he knows if we have faith or not. When we have the right kind of active faith, it will be visible to all anyway.
Having faith before men points people to Jesus.
It indicates that Jesus is alive and working in the lives of God’s children, we’re showing that we ‘walk the walk’ and not just ‘talk the talk’.
We need proactive faith. See 5 EASY WAYS TO BUILD STRONGER FAITH FOR HEALING
ACTIVE FAITH
The healing power of the Holy Spirit is always flowing. “And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” Luke 5:17
In this moment the healing power of God was present to heal everyone which suggests it doesn’t just switch on or off. Just because someone is serving in church and quoting verses, doesn’t prove their heart condition or their faith.
Some people make this their lifestyle, it’s how they want others to perceive them even though they rarely say 2 words to God behind closed doors.
Yet the Bible says that we can see faith, this is active faith. So how can faith be visual? How can we emulate the active faith of the paralyzed man and his four friends?
1. BEING UNIFIED
The paralysed and his friends were singing from the same hymn sheet. They had a common goal and agreed on a plan of action.
These guys were headed in the same direction. Are we in unity with our church leaders and those we invite into our inner circle?
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1
We are better together. Otherwise, it divides the world as to God’s goodness and existence. Unity shows that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one.
I’m sure you’ve seen photos of conjoined twins. I can’t even imagine how difficult this is. Imagine if one twin went in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. They’d be very uncomfortable, weak and in pain.
If you’re on a healing journey, yet you’re not planted in the church, at odds with church leaders and not in agreement with Scripture, there’s likely to be an unhealthy independence.
See 1 Cor 1:10,
This is not faith that can be seen.
We need accountability and direction as it’s so easy to go off on a tangent without realising. This is not God’s will for us. He wants us planted (Ps 92:14) and answerable to each other (Heb 10:24). (We are all capable of misunderstanding Scripture).
Outsiders need to see that we are ‘all one in Christ Jesus’. (Gal 3:28.) This is more likely to point people to Jesus than millions of independent ‘islands’, all believing different things.
2. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
When Jesus saw their faith, He saw that not only did they break through the roof to see him, but the overcrowded house didn’t deter them either.
They had a visual determination and perseverance.
If we want healing, then we’ll have to overcome obstacles.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:57
Think of the Woman with the issue of blood, pushing through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment.
She pushed through doubt, unfairness, loss, shame…
Maybe you relate to some of the following obstacles on our healing journey:
LITTLE CAPACITY
Illness drains and tires us. It would be easy to just not bother going to church or reading the Bible.
But these 2 things are so important when it comes to God’s healing.
It is possible to pace ourselves and move forward little by little, taking tolerable steps. Asking God for grace each day and relying on His strength.
Speaking from my own experience, I was unable to get out of bed most days, and I rarely got dressed or left the house.
My mum did everything for me – cooked, cleaned, shopped….
Through graded exposure, I was able to move forward one step at a time. If you’re believing God for healing, it’s unlikely to land in your lap.
Faith grows when we step out and use our spiritual muscles, even though the symptoms in our bodies remain.
This is one way that Jesus saw my faith.
LACK OF EMPATHY FROM OTHERS
You may notice those in your church just don’t understand which can be so hurtful.
Perhaps you look completely healthy. Maybe others in the church are getting a lot of attention for their sufferings, yet the church thinks your situation is pretty minor.
The paralysed man only needed the faith of 4 friends, not a whole crowd.
I believe God wants us to grow in our security in Him, that it doesn’t matter what others think of us, nor do we care whether we have understanding.
As long as we have a handful of faith-filled people in our world, I believe that’s all we need.
This starts with a choice. ‘Lord, I choose to not get upset about the views of others’. Can you trust the Lord to put just a handful of people in your world to support you?
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
Matt 18:20
HOPELESSNESS / DISAPPOINTMENT
If you’ve been ill a long time, you probably want to just give up on God healing you. I have been here so many times!
We don’t know how long the paralysed man was unable to walk, maybe many years.
I’m sure there were days when he did feel like giving up, so if you have days or seasons where you want to throw the towel in, know this is normal and ok.
I personally advocate feeling and validating the disappointment and try not to make a judgement about it.
Inviting Jesus, our Great High Priest, who empathizes with our weaknesses, into the disappointment and receive His comfort.
I’d be lying if I said, that the feeling of disappointment has disappeared completely, it hasn’t, but knowing that my story isn’t over gives me such encouragement.
DOUBT
The four friends and the paralysed man didn’t doubt God’s willingness or power to heal. If they did have doubts, they overcame them the day Jesus saw their faith.
The best antidote to doubt is reading God’s Word.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:17
When it comes to healing, remind ourselves of God’s track record, particularly in the Gospels where we see Jesus healing multitudes of people.
See 10 WAYS TO ‘HELP MY UNBELIEF’ (FOR HEALING)
I’m sure you can think of the obstacles that are hindering you from believing in God for your healing, these are just a few.
How are you developing ways to overcome them?
3. USING FAITH-FILLED WORDS
We don’t know the language these guys used the day Jesus saw their faith. It’s unlikely it was “I don’t think this is going to work…..I wish this was easier…….I bet he won’t heal…….”
It was probably more likely to be “I’m so excited to meet Jesus…..If only we get to see him and receive from him today….”
Those around us hear our words. Even our bodies and our cells hear what comes out of our mouths. We know how crucial it is always to speak LIFE.
If we speak things not in alignment with our internal truth, our nervous system knows there is an internal lack of integrity. So it isn’t just about saying the right things. (We need to believe them too)
Our words, when spoken with integrity, will show those around us our faith.
I’ve grown a lot in this area. When I was first unwell, I would allow all sorts of negative comments to leave my mouth, not realising the consequences.
I think the key is to speak Scripture over ourselves because these are God’s all-powerful words, or, speak what you want to see, not actually what you see.
4. INTENTION AND EXPECTATION
The paralysed man and his friends had a visual expectation.
They set off that day with the intention of healing. You wouldn’t make a hole in someone’s roof if you weren’t certain of the results.
This reminds me of a story that Colin Urqhart teaches about a paralysed man who approached him for prayer for healing. This man had a pair of shoes with him because he would need them to walk home!
I wonder if the paralysed man had a pair of sandals with him, expecting to receive?
Admiral Jim Stockdale, a fighter pilot in the Vietnam way shot down and imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton. Why did he survive when 1000’s of others died?
“the way I survived was this; I realised I had to retain a fundamental belief that I would prevail in the end.”Admiral Jim Stockdale
When you and I believe we will prevail in the end, it drives us to say and do – this creates a visual faith.
This belief causes us to step out in faith, to restart our lives without passively waiting for healing to suddenly fall through the sky.
We start to believe our suffering is temporary.
I’d be lying if I said I go to church each week expecting an instantaneous miracle healing. But I do go to Church expecting to hear God’s voice, knowing He is working in my favour.
‘What will God say to me today that will aide my healing journey?’
Starting this blog was an act of faith. I expect to see and feel incremental shifts as I journey on.
5. SERVING OTHERS
I believe, that even when our symptoms are fierce, we can still love and serve others. it’s not a question of serving to receive. This is earning and the wrong foundation.
But when we have faith, we develop a servant’s heart. This means serving and being there for others despite anything that is going on in our own world.
We don’t wait to see how we feel. We decide in advance, that despite how we feel, we’re going to go to church and serve.
I do know people however who serve in church but have confessed that they have no devotional life so serving doesn’t prove someone’s faith, but no serving at all might.
Because when you hear God’s voice, it may direct you to serve others because God will give you the grace you need to do what He is asking.
The man’s four friends were serving him.
They had love for their friend, a servant’s heart. They trusted that God had given them what they needed to accomplish His will.
This contributed to the faith that Jesus saw.
If you think it’s supportive, can you ask the Holy Spirit how you can best serve others whilst living with your present circumstances?
Do you think you have the same type of faith these friends had? What would those around you say?
I hope this helps you on your journey today. Take a look at the other parts of this series: