handicaps

the paraplegic

Posted on by Grace Day

My friends and I were praying over the prayer requests from people in our church, which they have submitted online. We do this once a week as a group. The requests are many, often anonymous, always heartfelt, often overwhelming, usually filled with a mixture of pain, despair, uncertainty and hope – perhaps hope in this desperate, last-ditch effort of sharing their deep need online with strangers.

Ours is such a large church and so many of the requests are anonymous, that I don’t know if I have ever known any of the people we are praying for each week. But of course, that’s the beauty of this thing called prayer – I don’t have to know. God knows everyone perfectly. He knows every situation and every need. How can I be sure of this? Well, the prophet Isaiah describes God in this way –

“He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)

Do you know how many stars there are? Google tells me there are one septillion stars. I can’t really get my mind around that number. Just our own galaxy alone, the Milky Way, has over 100 billion stars, including our sun. So I guess if God knows the names of all those stars, He also knows the names of all the people who have submitted prayer requests, anonymous or not. And then there’s this –

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

If God knows the number of hairs on my head and on your heads, dear readers, then I can be assured that He knows the names and the situations of all those I am praying for, even though I don’t know those things. The NLT translation says, “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.”

God knows. I don’t need to know in order to pray. I don’t need to know because God knows it all, sees it all and watches over it all. Nothing escapes His notice. He is omniscient. The author of Hebrews confirms this, saying –

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

So, this week there was a request for prayer for someone’s son who is now a paraplegic. No names or details were given. I found myself wondering how old is this son, how long has he been a paraplegic and what caused his condition – accident, illness, sports injury – what happened to him? What is his story? BUT – curious as I am, I don’t need to know all this in order to pray for him. God knows this person’s story and is continuing to write it even now.

I couldn’t help but think of the story of the paralytic told in Mark and in Luke. He was carried by his friends on a mat – this was before wheelchairs – to a place where his friends thought he might receive healing. His friends had heard the rumors of someone called Jesus who was healing people. They were willing to help their friend by transporting him to where Jesus was preaching and teaching. Here’s what happened –

“One day as He was teaching . . . Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ ” (Luke 5:17-20)

Not exactly the response they were looking for – they sought a physical healing for their friend. That was their priority – that their friend would once again walk. Instead Jesus told him his sins were forgiven. Some in the crowd, namely the Pharisees, took issue with this response saying – “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Our story continues –

“Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ‘ He said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” (Luke 5:22-25)

So how did I pray in response to this mother’s request for prayer for her paraplegic son? Before me was the desire for a physical healing. But her son needs more than this temporary fix. We all do. You and I and this paraplegic son, like the paralytic on the mat in front of Jesus, need a spiritual healing much more than we need any physical healing. A spiritual healing, which begins with forgiveness of sin, lasts for eternity. Any physical healing we experience in this life is temporary at best, as our bodies will eventually wear out. Even Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, did eventually die a physical death.

The paralytic asked too little of Jesus. He desired a temporary healing. Jesus wanted to give him an eternal healing of his soul, which is why Jesus forgave him of his sins. How could I best pray for this paraplegic? I thought of God’s promise to me, to you, to this beloved son –

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Currently, her son is suffering from depression due to this change in his circumstances. BUT – God wants to give him hope and a future irregardless of his physical circumstances. God didn’t take away the apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (whatever that was) BUT it didn’t change the call of God on Paul’s life. Paul’s life was full of meaning and purpose as he lived out God’s purposes for him rather than his own.

I prayed that God’s truth would set this paraplegic free to live out God’s good and eternal purposes for his life. I prayed he would find his identity, purpose, place and calling through knowing Jesus, his Savior and ultimate healer. God wants to give him “hope and a future” – that’s a direct quote and a promise. I pray that he will receive all that God wants to give him, starting with forgiveness and eternal life and all the good gifts God’s presence brings to us each day – His peace, comfort, wisdom, provision, protection, hope, joy – it’s a long list.

Joni Erickson Tada has lived a life full of meaning, purpose, accomplishment and service to so many people around the world – author, artist, activist for those who are disabled – her list of accomplishments is long. And she has done it all from a wheelchair! I pray this for the paraplegic son on today’s prayer list – a life full and overflowing with all his Creator wants to give him. I pray he know the truth – that God’s love for him is unwavering and that God’s call upon his life remains intact despite any physical disability. God’s answer to this paraplegic son is perhaps the same as His response to Paul –

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s response?

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I pray this son, this child of God, experiences God’s limitless power in his life, a life that is truly made perfect and strong because of, not in spite of, his newly weakened state.

sincerely, Grace Day

in sight full

Posted on by Grace Day

That’s how I would describe one of my prayer walk partners and friends – insightful. There are other adjectives I could use as well, caring, funny, smart – but if I had to pick two that stand out? that would be courageous and persistent – both hugely important assets in life, both particularly necessary attributes for my prayer walking friend. I admire his persistent pursuit of Jesus, perhaps because I too am running that life race. And running that race requires courage and endurance. The apostle Paul advises us –

“Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

So we are prayer walking and running this race together, he and I, and others with us. Now as I said, running this life race requires of us the utmost courage and endurance. But I think even more is required of my friend and he has shown himself equal to the task. You see, dear readers, there is something I have thus far neglected to tell you about my friend. Probably because it is not the most relevant nor important thing about him, still it is something – something worth mentioning. My very insightful friend is blind. (pun and irony fully intended)

My friend, like the apostle Paul, has a “thorn in the flesh” to bear in this life. However, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which God chose not to remove, did not disqualify nor deter Paul in any way from his calling in Christ. Paul carried out all that God gave him to do, sharing the Gospel, visiting churches, writing letters from prison, suffering for Christ – his thorn did not prevent him from submitting to God’s will for his life and in so doing, Paul lived out the life of purpose and meaning that God had planned for him.

I pray my prayer walking friend is finding this to be true for himself as well. His lack of physical sight in no way disqualifies or prevents him from finding his calling in Christ and from living it out. I feel like I’m still trying to find my way and my calling, and I have physical sight. But it is spiritual sight that is needed, spiritual sight that is essential actually to live this life in a Christ honoring way. After all, we are told –

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

My friend has learned this skill out of necessity perhaps, so he has a head start on the rest of us – BUT – walking by faith alone is an essential life skill that each of us must master at some point in our Christ following journey. Better sooner than later. You and I think sight so important, so necessary to our earthly lives – BUT consider this truth –

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Again, my friend is ahead of the game. Not distracted by temporary “seen” things now, he is freed up to focus or to “fix his eyes” on what is unseen, what none of us can see, but what all of us need to focus on – the eternal things of God, those things that matter most in the end. This is my prayer –

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

Again what matters is spiritual sight, rather than physical sight. It’s what Paul prayed for the Ephesians –

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Our culture may consider physical blindness a handicap, something that renders one weaker or at a disadvantage – BUT – the Lord said to Paul, when Paul asked to be healed –

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s response? whining, complaining, anger, giving up, running away, despair? No, Paul’s response to God’s refusal was this –

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Surprising maybe BUT – we know what God did with Paul’s handicapped, surrendered life! a lot! Reminds me of a modern day Christ follower, Joni Erickson Tada. She has served God her whole life, accomplished much for others and for the kingdom, all from the confines of a wheelchair. Some would call her handicapped, but her life says otherwise – it has been rich, full of purpose and accomplishment, more than most for sure. This is a reminder to me that –

“with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

I see the evidence of this truth in my insightful friend’s life. It takes courage and persistence for him to show up each day and navigate life’s challenges without physical sight. But he does and this must give inspiration and hope to others that they too can overcome the challenges that they face in their lives and be victorious. I am inspired by my insightful friend, remembering this truth from God’s word –

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

There may be those who watch my insightful friend walking down the street with his rod out in front of him and wonder why? Jesus disciples asked the same question of Jesus once. This is how that conversation went –

“As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’ ” (John 9:1-3)

Such is the case with my insightful friend. His physical blindness creates in him a dependence on God, which allows the work of God to be displayed clearly in his life for all to see and for God to be glorified. God has given him inward sight in full measure, hence the term “insightful” seems an apt description for him. When he talks with others, he is able to listen to them, without being distracted by physical appearances. He “sees” others as they truly are simply by listening to them. Just maybe, it’s a little easier to listen to God’s voice too, without all the visual distractions of the world?

Someone told my friend that blindness was the hardest handicap to live with. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What I do know is that my friend doesn’t walk in darkness nor alone. Jesus made that clear when He said –

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

My friend may be blind, but he sees with the sight that we all long to receive from God – the sight the hymn talks about – “I once was blind but now I see.” Paul (then Saul) was made blind as he journeyed on the road to Damascus. The result? Paul was at last able to see clearly who Jesus really was. It changed his life forever. Sometimes we have to lose something of lesser value in order to gain something of greater value.

I know my insightful friend sees with the eyes that count, the eyes of the heart, the eyes of faith. He walks like I want to – by faith and not by sight. Sometimes when you have sight, it’s too easy to forget the faith part and rely solely on sight, therefore on self. My friend doesn’t have that option – he walks by faith twenty-four/seven. After all, what we need to see, can’t be seen with human eyes anyway.

“So we fix our eyes . . . on what is unseen. . . . what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

sincerely, Grace Day