Who’s Got Your Back?

Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:3-5

Looking over the edge, I was frozen in fear. A few inches from the nose of my snowboard was the steepest drop I have ever seen. “I’m going to die” I thought as I watched the rest of my group effortlessly drop down in front of me. Just as I was about to unstrap my board and do the snowboarders’ Walk of Shame back down the mountain, I felt someone sit next to me. My friend Josh, had seen my struggle and had come over to help me. 

As I internalised my panic and cursed myself for stupidly following the boys, Josh spoke words of encouragement and confidence over me and gave me instructions on how to navigate the mountain. He had more faith in me and my situation than I did. And in that moment, that is exactly what I needed, even though I couldn’t articulate it. 

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (vs 5 emphasis mine)

This story in Mark is one of my favourites in the gospels. Every time I read it there is a word that stands out to me – THEIR.  THEIR FAITH. THEIR. 

Whose faith did Jesus see? Theirs. The friends of the paralyzed man

But who was healed? Not the friends but the man who needed spiritual and physical restoration. (vs 11-12)

Have you had seasons of life where you can’t bring yourself to Jesus? Where you feel so defeated, broken, disappointed that even praying the most simple prayer is beyond you? Just like the paralyzed man, it can feel so impossible to get in front of Jesus. 

What I love about this story is that the friends could have asked Jesus for anything. But in that moment they knew that their friend needed Jesus more than they did. Selflessly, they carried their friend through a dense maze of people and then came up with a clever plan to lower him through the roof. They quite literally had his back and as a result, their friend could walk. 

I got down the mountain that day, because I had a friend who had my back. Josh didn’t give up on me when I had given up on myself. I am so thankful that he had my back and believed in something that I thought was impossible. Who’s got your back?