Get Up and Get Moving!

By: Keefe Wilson

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Matthew 9:6

Last week I attended the CCA football game. The team played well, and the coaches did an excellent job. But when the quarterback took a hard hit, it brought back memories of playing quarterback in high school. Once, I took a hard hit that left me temporarily paralyzed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move my lower body! I was terrified, but after being taken to the hospital for observation, I regained full movement and was greatly relieved. But that memory reminded me of a paralysis that can affect our faith—spiritual paralysis.

Unconfessed sin, fears, doubts, disappointments, and bitterness will impede our spiritual progress. If our faith gets stagnant and we've stopped spiritually growing, it will eventually lead to spiritual paralysis. Neglecting prayer, spending minimal time in God’s Word, not fellowshipping with other believers—or not recognizing the enemy's attacks are all signs that our faith is becoming paralyzed.

We know what God commands, but we don’t do it. We know what changes we need to make, but we refuse to do them. Instead, we make excuses and try to stay comfortable in our spiritual paralysis. When those men brought a paralyzed man to Jesus, he was alive—but he couldn't move forward. In many ways, that's what spiritual paralysis looks like. We can still attend church, pray occasionally, read our Bible sporadically, and we may be serving God in a ministry. But we've stopped moving forward spiritually.

But notice what Jesus said to that paralyzed man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Then He commanded him; "Get up, take your mat and go home.” But Jesus didn’t restore that man so he could stay on that mat—He commanded him to get up and move forward. The same Jesus that cured that man's paralysis is telling us to move forward today. If your faith has grown stagnant, don't get comfortable, get up and get moving!

Christ follower, don't allow fear, hidden sin, or yesterday's failures to keep you spiritually paralyzed. Get back up and fulfill your divine calling. No matter what type of burden has caused your “spiritual paralysis", give it to Jesus. Trust God, ask Him for help, and get off that mat!