Sometimes I wonder if we even realize how crippled we are in certain areas of life. It’s easy to see when someone is physically crippled but I don’t think it is always obvious when we have other areas of life that are crippled. Emotional, spiritual or relational crippling can be just as devastating and difficult as being physically crippled.
Crippled – a lame or partly disabled person; one that is disabled or deficient in a specified manner.
I was reading Acts 14 today and it was talking about this man whose feet were crippled from birth – he had NEVER walked. He was sitting and listening to Paul share about the Good News about Jesus and Paul looked at him and realized this man was ready to believe. The result of that moment was healing – the man jumped to his feet and started walking.
From one moment to the next EVERYTHING changed because of Jesus. He is the only one who can transform us from being crippled to being whole.
For each of us it might be different things we are facing such as:
*Emotional scars and traumas from various circumstances and situations we have faced
*Relational difficulties or marital strain – loss of trust or feelings of disconnection
*Spiritual emptiness – feeling empty and knowing we have need of something in our spiritual life
*Mental and emotional anxiety and fear that can be very crippling
No matter what is crippling us the answer is the same – JESUS – He has the power and ability to come into any and every situation or circumstance and bring His power to bear upon the situation and all it takes is a moment where we are listening and realize we are ready to believe (trust and rely on or acknowledge our need for Him) – believe that we cannot do this on our own anymore and open our heart to the possibilities and promise He brings into every situation.
Jesus NEVER promised that we would not have difficulties in this life but He did promise to be with us and help us and give us victory over and through anything we might faced.
There is such hope today for any situation that you might be facing and it is found in that moment of believing and then the journey towards wholeness begins. For some it will be instantaneous for others it will be a process of time but no matter what now you will not have to do it alone.
Every season of my life there has been these moments – faced with areas of my life where I am “crippled” and in great need then I have that moment where I am ready to believe and invite His help into that part of my life. The journey to wholeness begins and I can tell you this – after almost 40 years of knowing Him – I have seen Him there and even in those times where I wondered if He was there – I didn’t realize how present He was until I looked back and I could see He never left me. So even in those seasons where it FEELS like He is not present – know this – He is!
One important truth that we need to know in this journey is this: God is NOT waiting for us to get it all together – He is waiting for us to just reach out and take His hand and accept the invitation He is making – He is constantly inviting us to make an exchange with Him – give Him all the doubts, the fears, the pains, the disappointments, the sins and the brokenness and receive from Him the life and peace and joy and healing that comes in the process of believing.
So today is your day and my day to be ready to believe and make an exchange and begin a journey of becoming whole.