To encounter God, more often times than not, you have to seek Him.
When a Paralytic discovered that a man who could perform healing was passing through his town of Capernaum, he made an earnest effort to meet him.
Unfortunately, the home where Jesus was preaching the Word was so congested with people that there was no room to observe (Mark 2:2).
When barriers like these are presented in life, plans have to be reconsidered, routes altered, and purposes re-examined. The reward can prove too costly.
I was in Toronto recently, at the start of the Invictus Games. As a friend and I exited the Royal York Hotel, we noticed a contingent of excited people circled around the hotel entrance.
We quickly learned this crowd was waiting for Prince Harry. He was expected to pass through the main doors on the way to his private car.
After walking a block away from the hotel, we both agreed to turn back and join the spectators. There was a realistic possibility to see the Prince!
Slightly starstruck, but pressed for time, we realized that those around us were uniformed of Harry's timeline for arrival. We let this uncertainty loom for a good 15 minutes before we abandoned the growing crowd, once and for all.
When the paralyzed man couldn't enter the house Jesus was in, he found another route. The four men who carried him on his mat, made an opening through the roof above Jesus, and after digging through it, they lowered him (Mark 2:4).
Up until this point, the paralyzed man has been living with a sickness that he couldn't eradicate. His pursuit to meet Jesus reflected his understanding that he could be cured if this specific surgeon could operate on him.
As the man is lowered from the roof, Jesus diagnosed his symptom immediately, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5).
How was the paralyzed man healed? The author prefaced Jesus' statement by describing that he saw their faith.
When faith is present, you take steps to reach a destination in spite of circumstances that appear deceiving. Further, when faith is present, you recognize that what you're chasing is the only way to free you from what you're fleeing.
Pastor James MacDonald goes as far as calling 'faith' our currency in relation with God.
How can you put yourself in the way of God? Are you chasing Him at your workplace? in your schooling? at your church?
In following Jesus you have to recognize it's not about anything you can do, but everything you can get to.