Good Morning Friends,
Be cautious when someone flatters you by saying you “fell from heaven”—the devil did that too. Pride, fear, and misplaced trust can all interfere with a healthy relationship with Jesus. Today’s devotion invites us to consider personal responsibility, the paralysis that can come from resisting God’s sovereignty, and the power of friendship and faith to move us toward healing. At the heart of it is one question: How Will We Respond When The Holy Spirit Creatively Helps Us To Overcome Obstacles?
Scripture: Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the people of Israel, “Each of you return home.”
1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a (NRSV)
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” —he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Mark 2:1-12 (NRSV)
Message: In 1 Samuel, Israel demands a king because they want to be like other nations. Their desire for human security leads them away from trusting God. In contrast, the friends in Mark 2 show us what faithful love looks like. They refuse to let the crowd—or the roof—keep their paralyzed friend from Jesus. Their determination becomes the doorway to healing. We don’t know much about the paralyzed man, but we know this: he couldn’t move on his own, and he had friends who carried him to Christ. Their creative courage shows us how the Holy Spirit often works—through ordinary people willing to act in extraordinary ways. When Jesus rules our hearts, the Spirit empowers us to overcome sin, love others well, and resist the pressure to measure our spiritual lives by achievement. What matters most is love—love expressed in prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and the simple willingness to help one another reach Jesus. Early Christian teachers often read Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Luke 10, and Revelation 12 together as a picture of Satan’s fall. Even though Isaiah and Ezekiel originally addressed earthly kings, the early church saw in their language a deeper spiritual pattern: a glorious being lifted by pride, rejecting God’s authority, and falling as a result. Pride, they taught, is the first sin—not only of humanity but of the devil himself. This ancient insight connects directly to today’s Scriptures. Israel’s demand for a king echoes that same prideful impulse: wanting visible power instead of trusting God. The friends who lower the paralytic show the opposite spirit: humility, compassion, and creative faith that breaks through barriers. Where pride paralyzes, humble love carries. Where self‑exaltation rejects God’s rule, faith opens a roof to reach Jesus. Where kings take, Christ gives. The early church believed that spiritual growth begins when we recognize this contrast—and choose the way of Christlike humility.
And So, the spiritual journey is both inward and outward. We descend through the “roof” of our own resistance and stand before God with honesty. There we discover that we are not in control, that Jesus is truly our friend, and that faith expressed in community brings transformation. What matters is not the hole in the roof but the love that made it.
Pray that our hearts continue to be formed and transformed by love. Pray that we express the love we receive through service to others. Pray that our will aligns with God’s Spirit so that we grow daily into the likeness of Christ. Pray that we rejoice in Christ’s authority, learn God’s agenda through prayer, and love one another in fellowship. Pray that love breaks through our barriers and leads to real change. Pray for humility, joy, perseverance, creativity, and friendship. Pray that our lives become stories that inspire others. Pray that we follow Jesus—not the crowd—and trust that He is the only King we need.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 