WHEN the crippling circumstances and situations of life confront you, what do you do? To whom do you turn and from whom do you turn? Do you turn away from God or do you turn away from the church?
Of course the answer lies in turning to God, but these and many other questions were thrown out to the congregation at the People’s Cathedral Church recently by head pastor Rev. Andre Symmonds during a message titled Nameless Nurses: Transitioning Into Blessing.
Taking his main text from 2 Samuel 4:4, his questions were centred on the story of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth (Saul’s grandson), who became crippled after his nurse accidentally dropped him in her haste to save his life.
Symmonds said that while this nurse meant well, had good intentions and was trying to prevent the young lad from being killed as his father and grandfather were, he was left crippled by the fall.
The young preacher lamented that only too often “our actions and decisions almost always result in someone else’s experiences – whether good or bad”.
He asked: “I wonder how much of what we say and do in life adversely impacts upon the lives of the people around us? Every so often I ask myself: ‘Is my existence on earth of a greater blessing than it is a bother? If you died today, would people be glad to get rid of you, or would people be sad to see you go so soon? How many people do we cripple every day because of our absence of concern or our lack of due care and attention?
“This nameless nurse represents every single last one of us. There is not a single person under the sound of my voice who has not in some way been adversely affected by another.
“As a matter of fact, this fallen lad also represents us because we have all been negatively affected by people – even those who meant well but ended up doing us harm.”
Symmonds also said that while this young lad was no longer called Meribbaal – meaning Contender against Baal and was later called Mephibosheth, meaning Son of Shame – God still had a plan for him, as he was later given a place to eat at the king’s table.
“Understand that life is full of people and situations, many of whom meant to do us good but due to the nature of our fallen creation, mistakes happen and oftentimes we suffer as a result.
“Until we get beyond the nameless nurses of our day, in whose hands we were thrust and entrusted, until like Mephibosheth we can forgive them and move beyond the hurts and grouses, we will never get to meet at the king’s table.”
Symmonds said many people were spiritually crippled.
“We must move beyond lame thoughts, lame attitudes, lame excuses and lame responses. It is because you are lame that God requests an audience with you. God can restore you.”
He added: “The boy in our story was crippled physically, yet so many of us have been crippled emotionally; some psychologically; many have been crippled socially, and in recent times most of us have been crippled financially; but I tell you today that all of us through our Adamic sin nature have been crippled spiritually. That’s why Jesus had to become our Second Adam. The first Adam left us crippled.
“But thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph . . . . Today He invites us to His Table. His Table is a place of blessing; blessing after blessing. If you are ashamed of your sin, if you are remorseful and repentant, then the crippling effects of this world cannot keep you out of the presence of a holy God.
“You need not wait for restoration to enjoy your promotion. He invites you now to come into His chambers,” he said.
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