The Stretch Luke 6:6 March 30, 2010

I know, I know it’s been awhile with posting. Please forgive me. I hope to do better.

Allow me to revisit a message that I shared some time ago.Let me start by stating that I believe that while God wants the best for us. And he is entirely willing and able to do what he needs to do for us. He will not operate without our cooperation. es he wants to bless you and I but he does so with us involved. He does not come in and take over and run rampant over our free will. But he allows us to cooperate with him in his blessing us and in his deliverance for us.

I mean, think about it. What God would he be if he just came in and took over our lives and did what he wanted.

Which leads me to the point of this man with the withered hand who for all intents and purposes was in the right place but his problem was wrong. He was in the temple but he was in fact crippled, handicapped and damaged. Yet he was in the temple,probably something he did regularly. How  of ten do we disconnect from the church or from the house of worship because of some handicap or because of some weakness or failing on our behalf. We stay away because we are no good. We stay away because we understand the frailties of our lives more than anyone else and this brothers and sisters is simply wrong. It’s like not going to the doctor because you ave the flu. Going to the doctor is exactly what you should do when you have the flu. Likewise getting into the presence of God when we are in trouble is exactly what we must challenge ourselves to do. 

This man is in the congregation when Jesus calls him out.

He is asked to come forward. He does so.

Now let me digress to say even though it is Jesus who is being watched. The others are on trial as well, those that would deny this man an opportunity at deliverance, some relief from his handicap simply for the purpose of following some tradition.

Because he is asked to come forward ad does so, now everybody has the opportunity to recognize his dilemma, it is made plain for all. I would dare say that oftentimes we are so interested at hiding from others that we do not realize that when we expose ourselves we are setting ourselves up for the miracle. What if this man had been to embarrassed to come forward. What if he was so self-aware that he just did not want to come forward ? Then he would have certainly missed out on the miracle that The Lord Jesus had provided for him. The idea is this: sometimes our issues are made public by circumstance o that we can be the vehicle God uses to get the Glory.

The man is asked to stretch forth his hand. Now, initially this confused me because the man’s hand was in fac withered. It could not be stretched out. So why was he asked this ? further how was he going to do this ? How do you stretch out something that cannot be stretched ?

You try.

Can you imagine this man just attempting to stretch out his hand , the bible says that he did so and when he did , his hand was made whole as the other.

The miracle is sometimes released in the attempt. Those that are willing to sit back and say that it simply cannot be done will never receive the miracle. Those that are so infected by what they see or the circumstances will never experience the benefit that is available to them.

Try and see what happens.

Try and expect the miracle.

Perhaps you have given up. I do not fault you for your discouragement. But the lord wants to bless you, he is calling you forward and he has called you out. Now he is asking you to stretch what cannot be stretched. Don’t be afraid to trust him.

Sometimes miracles happen in the stretch.

Advertisement

~ by awordgiver on May 25, 2010.