Stretch It Out!

And when He had looked around at them with anger, being greived by the hardness of thier hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other." - Mark 3:5

As I read this verse, a question came up: "Did it hurt to stretch?" If I was that man with that messed up, withered hand, would I be willing to stretch it out? What if it didnt work? What then? I wouldnt want to be embarrassed - would I have faith enough to even try it? Most of us would think the same way: "Well, if it doesnt work, that would be embarrassing, so I just wont try at all." In each of our lives, we have something, some part of us thats not functioning correctly. Although it would be scary & it might hurt, we have to stretch it out & get that area functioning properly! Jesus was wise in asking him to stretch his hand out. "Stretch" means to "straighten or extend one's body or part of one's body to it's full length, typically in order to reach something." Jesus had him stretch his hand out to restore it to normal position & to reach something new. As he now can use his hand properly, he can reach & attain those things that he was meant to.

Lord, I pray right now for ALL of us. We each have different areas that arent working correctly. Maybe it was an area where someone else gave us an injury. Maybe it's an area we were born with dysfunciton. Either way, God I ask that You give us courage & strength to stretch out the things we need to. We offer it to You. I know that You can do much more with our injuries than we can. Thank You Lord; I know You are faithful to heal & restore. I love You!

- Manda