Mark 2:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
2 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
The Press
Like most English words 'press' has multiple meanings. You usually have to read the whole sentence to know which press is being used. But, whether it's people from a news media, something making wine, a crowd, an iron or a pursuit, each application of the work has a common thread...pressure.
In the verses above, four men decided to intervene on behave of another. I don't know if the sick man was a friend, relative, or if they just banned together to help a stranger. But these four men pressed through their own issues to focus on the issues of someone else.
They pressed through the impediment of weight and burden. They pressed on to the location where the Healer was. They tried to press through the press, but felt pressed to find a new solution. So they pressed their weight and strength on the one barrier between them and the Savior, and let the bed down.
It would have been easy for these four to stop. Then again, maybe not. The Word testifies that even Jesus recognized their faith. That faith made them press. It made them keep on despite obstacles, despite set backs, despite evidence to the contrary that the sick man would be healed. They had faith that made them press beyond their circumstances on behalf of another.
That 'press' paragraph wasn't an attempt to be clever. I just wanted to point out that all that we do and encounter may be a press. What's a press for me may not be for you, but light or heavy pressure, we all have to press through.
The question is, what are we pressing to?
There is always a press. Our gift is we can press the press. We can move past the things that would topple and crush us. We can move past the obstacles and traps the enemy sets and press him instead. But it requires faith. It requires a commitment to believe that God can and will do exactly what He said. It might require coming at the problem in a different way...maybe looking at it from above instead of from the floor. We might have to stand up to the press in order to set it down. Or be humble before God before we can be placed above our problem.
If there's a press in your life, something that's keeping you from wholeness; keeping you from your calling in Christ, I encourage you to press back. Bear the shield and let that thing, that hindrancecome right into contact with the breastplate of righteousness we wear. Forget why you got sick. Forget why you're in this predicament. Focus on who you are in Christ. Focus on ridding yourself of the disobedience and embracing your life in Christ.
Philippians 3:13-14
King James Version (KJV)
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Press back. Press On!
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