“But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof [and removed some tiles to make an opening] and lowered him through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.” – Luke 5:19-20 (AMP)

Faith is an important ingredient in receiving miracles from God. Personal faith is very important, for the one who desires to receive miracle from the Lord must have faith personally that God is able to do what he desires. However, what about times when personal faith is not even there or can’t be expressed? The man in this narrative was paralyzed but that doesn’t mean his mouth and heart were not working. Faith is a thing of the heart before it is confessed with the mouth.

But the focus here is the faith these men had to bring him to Jesus. What did Jesus see? Their faith. That’s collective. Maybe the paralyzed man was included in this statement, that’s not clear but the men who brought him definitely had faith. When this man was weak and couldn’t carry himself, these men were there and their determined and out-of-the-box action originated from the faith they had that Jesus would heal the paralyzed man.

Dear believer, one of the greatest undoing of many is that they make close friends with people of the world who do not understand what faith is or how it works. You cannot surround yourself with negative people and expect that they will rise in faith when you are in a strait. There are times you might be weak in faith but when you are in a community of people with strong faith, your situation can be salvaged. If you check your inner circle, are they people of faith?

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.”

Reflections: Who are those who constitute my inner circle of friends? In the day of adversity, are they strong in faith to be of help?

Confession: I am chosen of God to be a carrier of His grace and Spirit. The kingdom of this world have no power or influence over me. I come out of every difficult situation. For me, miracles are real and they are manifested in my life daily.

Related Scripture: Luke 5:18-23

Bible Reading: Exodus 6