He couldn’t hear at all nor speak very well, but he was open to the possibilities. He wasn’t looking for Jesus, but the deaf man’s friends insisted. They brought the man before the Lord and begged Him to lay His hand upon their friend.
They wanted to see Jesus heal him. They wanted to be witness to a miracle. Their faith was strong. They believed the Lord could do it. In their minds, it was a real possibility.
The deaf man could have refused. The Scripture doesn’t tell us he was a man of great faith. He may have even been skeptical. In fact, if it weren’t for his friends he may have missed his miracle all together. Fortunately, he was at least open to the possibility—a possibility that would play out to change his life forever!
Sometimes we don’t recognize possibilities, especially divine ones, because God often does things in unconventional ways.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
It would be no different as Jesus took this deaf man aside, away from the crowd in private, to do something a little unorthodox. I don’t know if you would call it a “Wet Willy,” but the Scripture describes the scene as Jesus putting His fingers in the man’s ears, spitting on the ground, and touching his tongue. And then looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said to the man, “Be opened.”
Now the way Jesus went about this may not make sense to you and me, but it set a miracle in motion that immediately opened the man’s ears and enabled him to speak plainly.
It was a miracle moment that transformed his life forever. Never again would he not hear the sounds of creation at life, birds chirping, water flowing, the wind rustling in the trees. Nor the voices of fellow human beings, his family, friends, and loved ones. In that moment, a new life was born out of the death of an old life.
And it all happened not because this guy had great faith, but because he was open to the possibility of Jesus doing something in his life. He didn’t shut the door on God. He kept his mind and heart open to Him. And as a result, God opened the door to a whole new life!
Here’s a SIMPLE TIP:
Keep your heart and your mind open to God and the possibilities He can bring about in your life.
Don’t keep the door closed to God possibilities. With God, all things are possible! When we keep ourselves open to God, He opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities!!
A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly.
Mark 7:32-35 NLT
Article Postscript:
If you feel led, encourage someone else by sharing this article, or perhaps another article that was an encouragement to you. This one action could be a real game-changer in their life. With God, all things are possible!!