For
freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again
to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians
5:1
In
Luke 5, Jesus heals a paralytic. After
He heals him, Jesus tells him to “Rise and walk.” This statement seems pretty obvious. I mean, the dude could not walk; Jesus healed
him so that he could now walk. Who would
not automatically get up and walk in that situation? The answer, sadly, is many Christians
today. You see, sin has the tendency to
paralyze us. It captures us and inhibits
us from being the people that God has called us to be. However, Jesus has already come and healed us
from all of that. We are no longer
paralyzed, and Jesus is telling us to get up and walk.
I
recently started reading Spiritual
Slavery to Spiritual Sonship by Jack Frost.
I’ve only read the first chapter so far but I would already highly
recommend it to anybody who struggles with knowing and truly understanding the
love of the Father. Anyways, Frost talks
about how many of us are paralyzed by fear.
We Christians let fear entrap us when, in reality, we can be free and
rest in the love of God whenever we choose.
In one part of the book, Frost talks about his friend David. David had struggled with alcohol addiction
for many years, causing great damage to his relationship with his wife and
kids. Even after becoming free from his
addiction to alcohol. David still struggled with the guilt from the hurt he had
caused his family for so many years.
Long story short, David one day has a revelation of the Fatherly love of
God. Several weeks later, Frost asks his
friend if the revelation was still with him.
“‘I
don’t feel any different,’ he
answered, ‘but people tell me I’m different.
Everybody asks me, ‘What has happened to you?’ Even my wife and children
are saying, ‘You’re not the same person you were’ I don’t feel any different,
but they say that life is flowing out of me now.” (21-2)
When
I read that, God spoke to me about my desire for feelings. I often get caught up in thinking that I have
to feel different in order to be different. But as I read that passage, I realized that
thought wasn’t true. Even if I don’t
always feel God’s Father love, or even fully understand it, I know and trust that
it is true. And in that trust, I can
rise up and walk and live in the love of God.
So what
paralyzes you? What are you letting stop
you from being everything that God wants you to be? Whatever it is, Jesus is saying, “You’re
healed. In fact, you’ve been healed for
awhile so rise and walk.” So do it. No seriously, that’s really all you have to
do.
P.S. My trip to Kenya is just a couple weeks away. Please continue to be praying for the team, my co-leader, and me. Pray that God will be preparing my co-leader’s and my hearts for the team and that God will already be giving us wisdom and knowledge in how to best lead this team. Pray that God will give us the strength that we need to do His work for the entire trip. Pray for the whole team that God will be preparing their hearts as they get ready to go.
And, of course, I could still use your financial support. I still need about $1000 to cover the cost of the trip. If you want to donate towards this cause, you can click the “Mind on my money, money on my mind” link to donate online. Or you can be old-school and write a check. To donate in this way, make out a check to Adventures in Missions and put “For Robby Smith – Passport” in the memo line. You can then mail it to Adventures in Missions, PO Box 534470, Gainesville, GA 30353-4470. I also still have student loans and other personal expenses. If you would like to donate towards this cause, you can make out a check to Robby Smith and mail it to Robby Smith 306 Saltlick Trace Peachtree City, GA 30269.
