Jesus always sees beyond the presenting problem to the core. He doesn’t just want to touch the surface, but the deeper places. Touching those deep places within us is the only way we can experience real healing and wholeness.
Thus, Jesus knew that the
problem with the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) wasn’t merely his legs, it was so much more than
that. The real problem was his heart, so
healing just his legs would stop far short of the healing that was most
desperately needed. If Jesus healed the paralyzed man's legs, without healing his heart, the man would still not be whole.
Maybe you have prayed for years for God’s intervention in some area of your life, and yet, for the most part, those prayers have seemingly gone unanswered. That area of your life remains unchanged. Here’s a thought: maybe it’s because you are praying for the wrong thing. Maybe you too, are praying for your legs, when there is a much deeper issue that must be addressed. God wants to get his hands on that place. He wants to heal you at your deepest levels, but in order to do that he needs you to recognize exactly what the problem is. Are you willing to go there with him?
Heal us, O God, in a deep and beautiful way. For it is healing that we need and only you can offer it. Heal our hearts, heal our lives, and heal our world. Our wounds are the source of most of our conflicts and issues and dysfunctions, so touch us with your healing hands of love and make us alive and whole and free. Amen.
