It can be easy to become discouraged. When we are rejected or yet another door is closed in our faces or a task seems beyond our means it is easy to doubt ourselves and to doubt God. We may not see any possibilities or open doors or we may not desire any of the opportunities which appear available to us and so we can sink into depression or even despair.

The scriptures today throw us a lifeline, but a lifeline is only helpful if we grasp it. They encourage us to hold on and to keep trying. Our God is with us. Our God will bring about circumstances wherein we can leap for joy, sing our praises, rejoice and bloom. But we must put our trust in God and be patient. God works in God's time and in ways which may be unexpected to us.

We do not know how long the man on the stretcher had been paralyzed. We don't know his state of mind. We don't know what sins he may have committed. We do not know the relationship between the paralyzed man and those who sought to bring him to Jesus. What the story does tell us is that those carrying the paralyzed man did not become discouraged. They overcame the obstacles between them and Jesus and so they and the paralyzed man found cause to rejoice. With God's grace may we hold on and when we need it may we allow others to carry or drag us to Jesus that we might find healing and forgiveness and rejoice.