Yesterday my team and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to catch a 6:30 bus to Pokhara. After we got to the bus stop, put our big packs underneath the bus and prayed, a man came over to us begging. We have encountered so many beggars in Nepal, two of which became very close to the hearts of my teammates and me, but, of course, we can’t dish out money for every beggar who crosses our path.
This man who approached us at the bus stop had a limp. He was bitten in the leg by a dog, and has been paralyzed in that leg for three years. In broken English, he explained to my team leader what happened, and asked for money. She said, “I don’t have any money to give you, but I believe in Jesus Christ, the one true God, who can heal your leg. Can I pray for you?” The man shook his head no, and continued to beg for money. Micheala prayed for him anyway. He continued to beg for money. I prayed for him as well, and said, “That’s all we can give you, sir.” Then the man walked away, frustrated.
As I watched him, I thought, “This man doesn’t want to get well.” Jesus came up to him via my team and asked, “Do you want to get well?” And his reply was no.
This is what the enemy does: he traps us in our pain because our pain gets us what we want. Like stealing gets the thief what he wants and manipulation gets the wayward woman what she wants, a paralyzed leg was getting this beggar what he wanted.
I know that if that man had an open heart, Jesus would have healed his leg. My team has already witnessed physical healing in Nepal. But it wasn’t worth it to him. He couldn’t see the benefit in sacrificing his tool to get money for healing. In reality, if he would’ve allowed Jesus to heal his leg, Jesus would’ve healed his finances, too, because he’s just that good.
Are you keeping your pain because it gets you what you want? Or do you want to get well?
