Stretch out your hand.
What a strange and cruel thing to say to someone with a powerless, shriveled hand. It’s like telling a cripple to get up and walk. It’s like telling a deadman to stand up and come out of a grave. Who would say such a thing?!
I can only imagine what the man with the withered hand must have thought. Perhaps he heard about Jesus and knew what Jesus could do. Maybe he sat there with great expectation, ready to do whatever Jesus asked him to do, knowing that obedience could lead to healing. Conversely, maybe the man had no knowledge of Jesus. Maybe the words of Jesus to stretch out his hand caused him pause. Maybe a short war inside had to weigh, “is this man cruel, intending to lead me to shame, or is there something more to Him than I see?”
God asks us to do impossible things every day that invite us to reach beyond our ability. The old adage, “God will never ask you to do more than you can handle” may make us feel better about our ability to cope with a situation, but it hardly applied to this man. His whole life was characterized and impacted by a lack of ability to stretch out his hand. His ability to work and thus his quality of life would have been obviously impacted by his inability to stretch out his hand.*
I would change that old adage to say, “God will never ask you to do more than He can give you the power to do.” What does He have the power to do? Anything. What might He ask us to do? Anything.
The days of relying on our own ability to cope must end. We aren’t very good at it after all. The things that we face are bigger than us. The miracles that God wants to do in and through us require us to reach our hand beyond our ability.
Jesus is not cruel because the things He asks of us do not end in shame, but they end in miracles!
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to reach out, step out, or get up even when it seems impossible. Perhaps God wants you to lay down your own ability to cope and pick up His power to overcome. Maybe you fear that the situation you are in will end in shame, but the heart of God is to partner with you to produce a miracle. Perhaps God is just waiting for us to hear Him, believe Him, and obey. Maybe God wants you to dare to expect Him to do something great.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 305–308, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 12:9–14) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).