Mark 3:5
“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”
Put yourself in the shoes of the man whose hand was withered. Most likely his whole life he was handicapped because of his hand. If you are not handicapped, you can only imagine how this man so badly wanted his hand to be whole. If it were whole, he would be able to help his wife carry the groceries. If it were whole, he would be able to do the activities that other men regularly did around the house. If it were whole, he would be able to hold his children in both arms and play ball with them like every other dad. If it were whole, the quality of his life would seem to be so much better.
Then, the chance of a lifetime came his way. That chance was that Jesus came to town. He was now in the presence of Jesus, and he knew that Jesus could heal his withered hand. The only problem, it was the Sabbath. Though he was in the presence of Jesus, he was also in the presence of the Pharisees who were so judgmental that Jesus asked them whether He should heal this man’s hand. Thankfully, Jesus was not intimidated by their blindness and hard hearts and He healed this man’s hand.
Could you imagine if Jesus were like the average Christian who was afraid of the religious leaders of His day? If He were intimidated by this crowd, the miracle would have not been performed. The opportunity for the miracle to be hindered was determined by whether or not Jesus handled the situation properly.
Let me remind you that God still has the power to perform miracles today. Yet, just like Jesus faced hindrances to miracles, we also face hindrances to miracles. Let me show you these hindrances to miracles.
The first hindrance to miracles are hard hearts. Jesus specifically pointed out that the hardness of their hearts would’ve hindered his miracles. We must be careful that our hearts are not so hardened by routine and methodology that we don’t let God do the work He wants to do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about going against the Word of God, but I am talking about being so tied to a spiritual ritual or schedule that we hinder God from working in our lives or church services. I wonder how many church services have been hindered because someone wouldn’t let God do the work He wants to do.
The second hindrance was the attitude of the Pharisees. I talk to many preachers who tell me of people who hinder their church services because of a bad attitude. They sit in judgment of what is going on, only to hinder the miracles of God. Don’t let your bad attitude hinder God working in someone’s heart.
The third hindrance is peer pressure. Jesus could have succumbed to the pressure of the Pharisees, but He didn’t. You must be careful that you are not so worried what the “Brethren” think that you won’t step out and let God do something in your life. The only one you should be concerned with is God. If God wants you to do something, then don’t let your peers hinder you from doing God’s work.
Are you part of the crowd who is hindering the miracles of God? If you were the one who needed the miracle, you certainly wouldn’t want these hindrances around. You never know when someone needs a miracle. This is why you need to be sure that those things that hinder miracles are never a part of your life. Let God always do the work He desires to do. Ask God to help you have a tender heart and open ears to see and hear the times when He wants to do something special through you in someone’s life.