Devo - Unstoppable in Faith

Today’s devotion comes from our sixth message in the Mark series titled, "Reaching Jesus by Force."  The text is Mark Chapter 2, verses 1-12.

We open with this scene, where all of these people are standing outside of a house that Jesus is in. They all wanted to reach Jesus, but they all knew they couldn’t. Can’t you hear them murmuring amongst themselves?

“We can’t. We can’t get there. We’re just here, kind of in the area, and we know he is in there. But, no. We really can’t hear him. We can’t experience his presence. We’re just out here on the outskirts.”

But listen. Real faith drives you with a determination that will not be stopped. This is the problem – we don’t have a violent determination for our faith. We don’t say, “Look. It doesn’t matter. I am going to press through until I find Jesus – until I am sitting in his presence.” And with that commitment, you see a way.

You just see a way. You think, oh, okay. I won’t look at my social media for the first hour in the morning. I’ll leave my phone off for an hour. Oh! That’s a radical sacrifice, isn’t it? I mean, you may or may not live through that! So just try it! But there is something you see. When your commitment is strong enough, you can see what it is you need to do. And then you go to work. You “do.”

And that’s what these guys did. What they saw was a stairway up the side of a house and a flat roof made of dirt. They go up on the roof, and they start digging – they didn’t bring shovels and spades; there are no tools up there. Chances are they dug through that roof with their bare hands because nothing’s going to stop them from getting through to Jesus.

What does it mean for you? What does digging through a roof with your bare hands look like in your life? What circumstances do you have to push through to reach Jesus in your life? What determination do you need to reach this place where you experience the presence of Jesus and hear his voice and respond to him? How resourceful do you have to be?

The question is simple. Will you reach Jesus by force, or will you allow the circumstances to keep you from him? That’s the bottom line. Once we understand that all we need comes from the presence of Jesus, from our relational communion with him, then the only question is, are we going to forcefully get there, or are we going to give up because the world throws up a flat-screen TV in front of us?

These men were unstoppable in their faith, and their faith was displayed by their actions. And it is the same with us. Your faith is displayed in your actions. And so, if you’re saying, “You know, I want to be in the presence of Jesus, but I’m not,” then really focus on that and say, “Whoa. Maybe there’s something I need to push through. Maybe there’s something I need to crucify in my life.”

Consider how to be unstoppable in faith.

To what lengths are you willing to reach Jesus in a way that he can truly heal you and restore your life?