“I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”
Mark 2:11
He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward”.
Mark 3:3
And behold, and angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands.
Acts 12:7
A certain truth in this life is that challenges can come upon us that we did not seek or desire. When these happen, we can sink down in despair and give up, or we can get before the Lord Jesus Christ and ask what He wants us to do. He may well say to us by the Holy Spirit to “get up!” In each of the above three scripture examples, people found themselves facing great challenges that really kind of looked hopeless unless God intervened. The first two involved miraculous healing by Jesus, and the last one a miracle release of Peter from prison with the help of an angel. All three of these instances, and many more in scripture, involve the message of “get up” by God for the person to find deliverance and healing. I believe and have experienced that often we look elsewhere in our life for our help, namely people, to be our Savior rather than the one true Living God. We delay coming to Him for help as we work out our schemes to find relief apart from humbling ourselves in desperation to the Lord; this is done to our own loss and hurt. God requires action to our faith and not just a slinking down into hopelessness with our eyes and focus away from Him. What we need to do is learn to look up to our God and cry out to Him in faith and then act upon what He tells us to do. The three examples in the above scriptures involved very lifechanging situations and sometimes we excuse our inactivity by saying our concerns are not that dramatic. I would suggest that for many of us “getting up” means we make a phone call, visit someone or send an email or letter to see God work in our circumstances. We can never find God’s peace and help by being unfaithful, disobedient or rebellious to Him. We must cooperate with Him and literally “get up” when He directs us to do something by His leading. This is how we find “breakthrough” and change in our life circumstances. We are to be in relationship with God Almighty by our faith in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and this will require us to respond to Him. Perhaps we are suffering from something in our life that God has told us to “get up” from to find the necessary restoration or release. Perhaps a real breakthrough is only one act of obedience away from us, but that is what is keeping us from experiencing God’s power to set us free. Regardless of our circumstances, it is always right and best to trust and obey as there is not other way to be happy in Jesus as the song goes. Let Him lead your life and watch what He can do! Blessings!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek