Praise God, my friend.

The above verse comes right after Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed.

But before healing him, Jesus said:

“Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

The teachers of the law questioned Jesus because they believed He was speaking against God by forgiving sins.

So Jesus showed them that He had authority on earth to forgive sins by telling the man to get up, take his mat, and go home.

You see, Jesus did not tell him to stay there and keep looking at what had just happened.

He told him to get up, take his mat, and go home.

That mat had been part of this man's life for a long time.

It was part of his story, but after meeting Jesus, it was no longer the place where he had to stay.

And that happens in our lives too.

There are things Jesus may have brought us through that were such a big part of our lives that we start making them part of our identity.

We tend to keep looking at our past, mistakes, failures, or the things we could not change.

And we forget that Jesus has already forgiven us and called us to get up.

Of course, that does not mean our past never happened.

It simply means our past does not have to decide who we are anymore, my friend.

The man still had his mat with him when he went home.

Jesus did not ask him to pretend that part of his life never existed. He simply told him to get up and move forward.

And, my friend, I think that is something we need to remember.

What happened before we came to Jesus can still be part of our story, but it does not have to be the place where our story ends.

Jesus has forgiven us, restored us, and given us a new direction.

So let us not keep sitting in the same place simply because that is where we have been for so long.

Jesus has already told us to get up, so let us get up and follow Him.

May His will be done in our lives.

We don’t know who needs the above reminder, but God does, my friend.

So let us share it with a prayer.

Let’s Pray

Dear, gracious heavenly Father,

Thank You for everything You have done for us through Jesus.

Help us remember that our past does not define who we are right now.

Give us the courage to get up, follow You, and trust the direction You are leading us in.

During the times of temptation, help us to not fall into it and choose the things that bring glory to Your name.

Let everything we do, say, and share point people back to You and bring glory to Your name.

In Jesus' name we pray

Amen.