ICS Daily Devotions
Seek and Get a Word from God
Luke 5:18-20,24-25 (NKJV) Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralysed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” … But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralysed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
When we go through a trial, tribulation or test, we have to walk out our faith walk and also allow our spouse and friends to journey with us. Just like the paralytic, we need to seek Jesus—seek the face of God—and He will speak to us. We should not move forward until we have heard from God because it will give us a firm footing. One of the best things that the four friends did was to bring the paralytic to Jesus, because it was in the presence of Jesus where he received the Word: “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Many believers make the mistake of doing what is urgent rather than seeking the face of God; many will busy themselves dealing with the issues at hand rather than take time to seek the face and the wisdom of God—they only want God to bail them out, but not God Himself.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6 NKJV), which means if your godly friends tell you to seek the face of God and get a Word from Him regarding your situation, they are helping you by pointing you back to God, so stop using your own wisdom if it has already come to an end! If we don’t seek the Lord, we will be facing the situation on our own. A Word from God will help us to anchor our faith in Him that He will create a path in the wilderness and a stream in the desert with regards to our situation and bring peace into our lives.
Jesus said, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” There is authority and creative power in Jesus’ Word. The paralytic responded in faith by arising and picking up his bed, and he went home glorifying God. He had a Word from Jesus. What is the Word that God has spoken to you which will help you respond and anchor your faith in Him to see you through your tribulation?
Sermon Series: Friends (Part 2) – Facing Test, Trials and Tribulation with Our Friends
(devotional 7)
