I guess you could say ...

on this idea of the mat!

All day long I've been thinking about it ...                            

what are the mats that I've confined myself to ...

what are the mats that others have strapped me to ...

and I'm drawn to the truth that the man was lowered by his friends, through the roof, to the very feet of Jesus ... but in the end, it was just the man and the Redeemer!!

or was it?

Today I have a different picture in my mind ... one where the friends loaded up the man on the mat and the man wasn't sure ... after all, he'd seen a few who said they could help him before ... and he'd been let down before. He had come to terms with his ailment ... it would be a lifelong struggle ...

but his friends wanted more for him!!!!!!

In Mark 2:5 it says "...when Jesus saw their faith ..."

Did you catch that??

THEIR faith ...

not his faith ...

their faith!

Let the preciousness of friendship/loyalty/devotion wash over your soul ... their faith ...

like Aaron and Hur holding up Moses arms when the battle became too much to bear.

just as David and Jonathan became one in spirit in 1Samuel 18 ... there was a covenant ... Jonathan loved David as himself ...

there's no qualifier in my Greek/Hebrew Bible that says the original language was referring only to the man on the mat!! Their is plural!

The faith of his friends compelled Jesus' heart!

Go with me for just a minute ...

what if the scene had played out that the friends carried the man to the house, tore off the roof, lowered him down to the Savior, the Savior said "Your sins are forgiven" as he did in Mark 2 ...or as Peter said in Acts 9: 32-34 ... "Jesus Christ has healed you." ... then the command had been issued to get up and take care of your mat ...

and they just chose to lay there.

Would their healing have been revoked??

Romans 11:29 "... God's gifts and His call are irrevocable ..."

He healed both these people.

His gift was His gift ... pure and amazingly simple.

irrevocable ... the Greek is ametameletos ...

without regret, so not revocable ...

lean in with your heart and listen to that again ...

God's gifts and His call are without regret ...

you can lay on your mat if you choose

He doesn't regret His gifts.

you can lay on your mat if you choose

He doesn't regret His call.

He isn't going anywhere ... he isn't tapping His foot waiting for you to come on ... there isn't anger boiling inside of Him ready to burst on the scene ... He isn't up there saying, "if she doesn't come on, I'm done with her" ... He isn't looking on your heart and saying "if only she were _______"

His gifts and His call are without regret.

You may be the friend waiting on your friend who is stuck on the mat.

His gifts and His call are without regret for you ...
     
                please don't become impatient, don't run away, don't give up ... don't stop actively participating. He sees your faith ... He's placed you at the corner of the mat for your good and for His Glory.

You may be laying on a mat wondering, did He really heal me?

His gifts and His call are without regret for you ...

               listen to the Father, hear His voice, walk in the healing that He's given ... even if You aren't 100% sure. Pick up your mat.  He's placed it in your life for your good and for His Glory.

You may be wondering if you can keep your mat hidden forever. Is He really going to use this?

              the mat you carry with you is the evidence of what you have been delivered from ... don't carry it around in shame and fear. Unroll it when He calls. He's allowed it for your good and His Glory ... it is the very thing that bears witness to what He has done in your brokenness ...

His plan is securely in place for you.

And for your mat.