TO PUT AN END TO GENERATIONAL PARALYSIS
You are what you tolerate.
MY PHONE RANG for the third consecutive time in ten minutes, and I took a deep breath before answering. Yet another journalist called to solicit my opinion on the immigration crisis at our country’s southern border. The situation commanded everyone’s attention, regardless of political affiliation.
As the president of the largest association of Hispanic pastors and Christian leaders in our country, I found my point of view carried weight with media sources eager to quote leaders with a uniquely personal and professional perspective. I did not have answers or instant solutions. I did not criticize our president or give them the sensational sound bites they might have wanted, but I did not want to miss an opportunity to speak on an urgent issue of grave importance.
The irony of the situation had not been lost on me. As an American born in New Jersey and raised in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, in an area between Philadelphia and Allentown, I could not help but feel just as American as anyone else in our working-class, suburban neighborhood. Yet in middle school I faced bullying from other students for being of Puerto Rican descent. Sadly enough I also encountered prejudice from some of the adults. I will never forget the shock and anger I felt while sitting in the guidance counselor’s office as a high school freshman. We had scheduled a meeting to discuss my course selections, which at that time tended to tilt toward college and a professional career or else toward skilled labor as part of a blue-collar workforce.
When the counselor asked what I thought about my future, I told her of my interest in computers and computer engineering. She did not take it seriously and patronized me as a nerdy kid with no idea how the world works, directing me toward construction, landscaping, or some other trade labor. It meant nothing to her that I had a high grade point average and took honors courses that placed me near the top of my large class. This woman could not imagine me as a college-educated professional. Bless her heart, she probably thought she did me a favor! But my encounter that day motivated me to work even harder to show her, and everyone like her, that I would never be paralyzed because of demographic or generational factors.
Whether my voice influenced long-lasting solutions to the issues surrounding our country’s policies on immigration, I do not know. But I do know the problems within our country—on this volatile issue and so many more—can either unite us, making us stronger as we overcome obstacles together, or continue to divide us, splintering us into factions and paralyzing us to the point where our problems feel insurmountable. I am a firm believer that obstacles represent opportunities in disguise.
With issues such as immigration I am keenly reminded, however, that cultural, social, and political obstacles can also paralyze us, both as individuals and as a nation, if we wait on someone else to do something. Like the man at the pool of Bethesda we can wait on someone else to put an end to the generational paralysis we have inherited, or we can listen to the voice of Jesus and experience freedom from a legacy of loss as we find healing and discover our divine destiny.
The choice is ours.
And it starts with you and me.
Right here and right now.
Obviously I believe our country and our world can only find hope in Jesus Christ. And this hope spreads and makes a difference in overcoming the shackles of prejudice, poverty, and paralysis through the local Christian church. God calls you and I, along with the millions of other followers of Jesus united within the church around the world, to be His bearers of light in a world that seems to grow dimmer each day.
And the fact that so many reporters, journalists, and media anchors wanted to interview me on the topic of immigration highlights that the perceived separation of church and state does not apply when it comes to matters of human life and moral integrity. As people committed to following Christ’s example, we of all people should be willing to act, to serve, and to lead. I fear that instead we succumb to the generational paralysis afflicting us like an epidemic.
We do not need more followers of the donkey or the elephant. Our nation needs more followers of the Lamb!
You only need to turn on your phone, laptop, tablet, or flat screen and scroll to a news source. Turn on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, or even Univision, and you will see our country’s paralysis. Political correctness paralyzes us. Political discord renders us powerless. Economic disparity disables us. Lack of communication impairs us. An attitude of distrust toward those who are different incapacitates us. An unwillingness to respect those with whom we disagree freezes us in our tracks.
Does anyone have the answer? Before you begin to wonder if I am running for political office—I am not! Please understand that I am not complaining. We do not need more followers of the donkey or the elephant. Our nation needs more followers of the Lamb!
The answer to America’s paralysis is Jesus.
The answer to America’s paralysis is the church of Jesus Christ!
Not just any church but a united church. A divided church will never heal a broken nation. The answer to our nation’s paralysis is a holy church (1 Pet. 1:16), a healed church (1 Pet. 2:24), a healthy church (3 John 2), and a happy church (John 15:11)! But to change the church, the nation, and the world, we must first confront our own personal paralysis. For at the end of the day Uncle Sam may be our uncle, but he will never be our heavenly Father.
We all suffer from paralysis at various times in our lives. Our immobility may be the result of a devastating injury, a debilitating illness, or a dangerous addiction. We may be stuck in place because of someone else’s betrayal. We may be frozen by fears of what might happen if we risk stepping out in faith as God calls us. We might cling to false beliefs about our identity based on our circumstances, our family of origin, and our limitations.
But consider how many times in the Bible individuals paralyzed by indecision, inaction, and inconsistency are energized into action by the power of God. When God wants to use us, nothing and no one can limit Him! Ironically, too often we limit Him because we look with our mortal eyes. One of my favorite “movers” in the faith is Abram, who went on to become Abraham.
Stops and starts characterize his entire story. Our first introduction to Abram comes as he moves with his father from Ur to Canaan: “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran” (Gen. 11:31–32).
Now the Chaldeans in the land of Ur worshipped idols, not the living God who prompted Terah to move to Canaan, the land later known as the Promised Land because God promised it to Abram and guided the people of Israel there after delivering them from slavery in Egypt. And while God called Terah as well as Abram, for some reason Terah never made it to the destination God had for him. Maybe he grew tired or became sick and could not travel any farther. We do not know.
But we do know that Terah settled in Harran and died there. He did not finish the journey he started. He stalled out and ended up dying between where he started and where God wanted to take him. You and I both have seen the same situation occur over and over again with people we know today. They start out strong in pursuit of their God-given dreams and cannot wait to follow Him to their own promised land.
But then life intrudes.
Most likely you have experienced it in your own life as well.
The college degree you worked so hard to attain has not helped you find a job in your field—but your student loans have come due nonetheless. The plumbing backs up in the house and the repair requires thousands of dollars you do not have. The spouse you committed your love to for the rest of your life betrays your vows and decides to divorce you. The children who used to be scared of the dark and run to you for comfort now face the darkness of addiction and run away from the help you offer. The body that has always been strong and healthy suddenly fails you, unable to bear the chronic pain that years of stress has produced.
In the midst of life’s intrusions we lose sight of our dreams. We get stuck and do not know how to keep going. We settle for less than God’s best and do whatever it takes just to get by for another day. We accept Harran instead of pressing on for Canaan. We feel foolish for ever thinking that we could have made it to such a lofty destination. We feel ashamed for losing hope in God’s ability to get us unstuck. We feel angry that others seem to pass us by and see their dreams realized while we remain left behind.
And when you settle for Harran instead of Canaan, your children will likely settle there too. Perhaps you saw what your parents worked so hard to attain slip through their fingers during the economic recession or when Alzheimer’s claimed their minds. Maybe they never finished college and could not help you get your education either. Perhaps your parents divorced and sent the message that marriages do not last.
I have a revelation for you: we all suffer from paralysis—perhaps not physical but spiritual, emotional, financial, or relational. You find yourself reading this even as you struggle to move forward in your life. You have lost your mobility and your motivation for taking action. Disappointed by other people, circumstances, and the consequences of your own choices, you struggle with paralyzed dreams.
Paralyzed integrity.
Paralyzed faith.
Paralyzed destiny.
Paralyzed career.
Paralyzed relationships.
Paralyzed ministries.
So many factors can deaden the nerves in our soul to the point where we lose feeling. We lose our sense of spiritual balance and our ability to trust God as we step out in faith. Many things plague us: sin, failure, fear, the past, shame, religious condemnation, self-pity, victimization, poverty, abuse, broken relationships, unforgiveness, and unbelief. We are paralyzed.
Paralyzed by others’ opinions of us.
Paralyzed by what others say about us.
Paralyzed by the constant need to be affirmed and validated.
Paralyzed by fear—both what we see in the outside world and what we see when we look inside our own heart.
Just like that man by the pool at Bethesda, at a corporate macro level generations are paralyzed in North America and around the world, crippled by moral relativism, cultural decadence, spiritual apathy, violence, corruption, darkness, hatred, bigotry, intolerance, perversion, and death.
The enemy of grace, truth, and love desires to paralyze your future through definitions, nomenclatures, and descriptors assigned to you that do not line up with God’s prophetic destiny and purpose for you. In other words, the enemy will paralyze you if you do not have certainty about your identity in Christ! Therefore, you must ask yourself these critical questions:
Who am I?
Am I defined by my past?
Am I defined by my circumstances?
Am I defined by what people say about me?
I have great news from what took place on the cross: Christ defines you.
The things that surround you do not define you.
God’s Spirit inside of you defines you.
Your circumstances do not define you.
His covenant defines you.
The hell you are going through does not define you.
The heaven you are going to defines you.
Your failures do not define you.
His forgiveness defines you.
For all my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram brothers and sisters:
The likes of many do not define you.
The love of One defines you.
And for all the religious folk:
What you do for God does not define you.
What God already did for you—through the cross, empty tomb, Upper Room, His blood, and His Word—defines you!
The Father defines you.
The Son defines you.
The Holy Spirit defines you.
Galatians 2:20 defines you: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
With so many attempting to define us as the body of Christ, it behooves us to ask ourselves the same questions collectively:
Who are we as Christ followers?
Who are we as His church?
Are we just another institution in society?
Are we another religious faith narrative competing in the marketplace of ideas?
Are we a feel-good device for the spiritually impaired?
Are we an antiquated conduit of irrelevant values no longer applicable in the world of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube?
Our response will determine whether light will overcome darkness in our generation. So who are we? With clarity, conviction, and courage we must give the following response:
We are the light of the world.
We are a city on a hill.
We are people of the Word.
We are salt and light.
We are prophetic and not pathetic.
We are disciples, witnesses, and Christ followers.
We are evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
We are children of the cross, fruit of the empty tomb, and a product of the Upper Room.
We are the redeemed of the Lord.
We are the sheep of His pasture.
We are forgiven, free, and favored.
We are called and chosen.
We are warriors and worshippers.
We are the righteousness of God.
We are world changers and history makers.
Let me also tell you what we are not. We are not Google, Microsoft, Ford, or even Starbucks. We are the church of Jesus Christ, and the gates of hell shall not, cannot, and will not prevail against us! Hallelujah!
Now that you have answered the question of your identity, you must next answer the voice of Jesus calling out: “Do you want to get well?”
We all want to get well. No one likes being paralyzed. I cannot imagine anyone choosing to remain paralyzed when presented with the opportunity to be healed and whole again. But sometimes the risk, the fear, and the uncertainty of answering Jesus’ call seem too overpowering. It seems easier, safer, and more convenient to stay on the ground, wishing someone else could help you get to the water while accepting that you can never get there fast enough. Resigning yourself to a lifetime of paralysis, while devastating and immobilizing, strangely enough seems preferable to standing up and daring to take that first step.
Paralysis, however, comes in part from being caught between immobility and possibility. Maybe you have been told to accept that your situation will never change. But once you glimpse the possibility for a miracle, how can you close the door of your heart’s belief in healing? No matter how much your mind tries to insist a miracle will not happen, you begin asking yourself, “What if?”
What if healing could somehow be within reach? You think your marriage might be over, but what if a miracle happened and you and your spouse forgave each other and restored your relationship? You talk to the bill collectors and assume you will have to declare bankruptcy, but what if you found money you did not know you had and could pay off your debts? You presume you will never be promoted at work because you do not have a degree, but what if your supervisor noticed your hard work and rewarded you with a raise?
The paralyzed man knew what it means to wonder, “What if?” and wait and wait and wait for something to change. Even if he had resigned himself to paralysis, he nonetheless remained there beside the pool. He stayed at the edge of possibility, hoping against hope that somehow, some way, he might make it into the rippled waters first. As slow as he was, he knew cognitively, rationally, and logically that he would never be the first to make it into the pool after the angel stirred the water.
Yet he did not leave.
He stayed there even when it did not make much sense.
Sometimes we can only stay at the edge of possibility, hoping with no logical reason for a solution, a change, a healing. We cannot see a way forward. We have forgotten what it feels like to stand and walk on our own. We feel sorry for ourselves and resent that others receive the healing we long to experience.
Yet we cling to hope at the edge of possibility.
Other days we find it too painful to hope for more, too scary to think about what life might have been like if we had gotten what we have been needing for years and years. Because then we might not know who to be and how to live. We get so used to being paralyzed that we cannot imagine who we would be if we could walk again.
We know if we stand and try to take that step in our own power, we might fall down and be right back where we started. We might even feel shame at the thought of trying again after struggling and straining to get on our feet only to collapse yet again. At first our anger might propel us to keep trying and then try harder, but eventually we become so exhausted that our willpower runs out.
Think about your own life for a moment. Think about those specific areas where you feel numb and unable to move forward. Think about the dreams that have withered and left you feeling like a victim of atrophied hope.
How many times have you tried to work harder and do better? How often do you promise yourself you will go back and finish that degree, stand up to your boss, or look for a new job? How many times have you tried to give up an abusive relationship only to fail? How many times a day do you criticize yourself for overeating, smoking, spending too much time online, or drinking too much?
We often feel like victims because we cannot overcome our paralysis by ourselves. But God never intended for us to do it on our own.
You can never overcome your personal, generational paralysis in your own power. Writing to the community of believers in Rome, Paul explained, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom. 7:15, 18). When have you felt powerless to do what you knew God wanted you to do? When have you wrestled with temptation only to succumb to the enemy’s attacks and end up doing what you know you do not want to do?
The good news—no, the absolutely great news—is that you do not have to rely on your own power. Paul concluded, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24–25). We often feel like victims because we cannot overcome our paralysis by ourselves. But God never intended for us to do it on our own. So He sent His Son to die for our sins, and He sent the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts.
You do not need to be a victim, my friend! God has given you the victory through your relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus told the paralyzed man to walk, the man picked up his mat and walked. When God calls you to move, it does not matter who your parents are and what they did or did not do. Like the paralyzed man, you just have to do it—not think about it, talk about it, or analyze it. Long before the phrase became synonymous with Nike, the message came from the voice of Jesus as He told a man to get up and walk.
Just do it.
I know it seems too simple to be true. You want to just do it, but everyone around you reminding you of your paralysis makes it tough. And you tend to believe them because you find it too painful to hope for more. Especially when those voices belong to your parents, it can seem impossible to break free and do what you have never seen them do.
But you are not your parents.
Your life does not have to turn out the same way theirs did. Your marriage does not have to end just because theirs did. You do not have to struggle with addiction to prescription painkillers just because they did. You do not have to give up hope and sink into depression just because they did. They may have settled for Harran instead of Canaan, but you do not have to stay where they were. You can bury them and their paralysis and move on!
So often we want to blame our parents for our paralysis, but God tears down that excuse. Yes, our mothers and fathers dramatically influence our lives. So do our grandparents, guardians, and even the caretakers we knew while we were children. But their mistakes do not determine our lives! We may suffer the consequences of their bad choices and wrong decisions, but they do not have the power to render us paralyzed for the rest of our lives. We can make a break with generational paralysis and allow Jesus to make us whole.
Jesus pointed this out to His followers when faced with healing a man who could not see. As Christ walked with His disciples, they came upon a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked their Master whether the man’s own sins or the sins of his parents had caused his blindness. The Lord’s answer surprised them: “‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (John 9:3). Jesus meant that the man had been freed from the curse of the Law because it put demands on people that no one could keep.
In today’s vernacular we would call this news a game changer for people accustomed to being stuck in life based on the family into which they were born. Under the Law God gave to Moses, the sins of the father often echoed throughout the generations that followed. But when Jesus came and died on the cross for our sins, He forever broke the power of any curses, strongholds, or generational sin. The Bible tells us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (Gal. 3:13–14).
Do you know what this means? The promised land awaits you! No matter where your parents, grandparents, or ancestors settled before reaching the promised land, that place no longer holds you. The “blessing given to Abraham” mentioned in this passage from Galatians draws us back to an example we must not overlook. Because you see, after his father died in Harran, God spoke to Abram and reminded him that the time to move on had come.
Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
—GENESIS 12:1–3
This blessing, so Galatians 3:13–14 tells us, belongs not just to the Jewish people as direct descendants of Abraham but to the Gentiles as well. What Jesus did for all people sets you and me free from any forces of the past attempting to paralyze us.
You might be aware of areas of paralysis in your life as you struggle to believe God can release you from the generational weight that continues to pin you down. Perhaps you think, “I know God can heal me, Pastor Sam, but I am tired of waiting and hoping. I have too much to overcome. Even if I get on my feet, I will always limp along.”
While I understand this feeling, I must challenge you to let go of the chains that bind you and to walk in the freedom you have in Christ instead. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18). You have been set free, my friend, no matter what chains may have shackled you or what generational consequences you may have inherited.
The tricky part is now walking in your new freedom. You may have heard about caged animals that grow so used to the comfort and familiarity of their confinement that even when people set them free to return to the wild, they stay put. These wild creatures made to live in jungles, rainforests, and woods have grown accustomed to seeing bars in front of them. They can now leave their prisons behind and walk through the open doors of their cages. But that means stepping out into the unknown wilderness.
Perhaps, like a caged animal set free, you feel apprehensive about who you would be and what your life would become if you got on your feet and began walking in the power of God. Take a moment and ask yourself, “Who would I be if I had the peace and security I have always longed to have? Who would I be if I trusted God to provide for my every need and rested in the knowledge of His sovereignty? Who would I be if I stopped blaming my parents, my kids, my abuser, my boss, my in-laws, and my enemies?”
As a runner I know how daunting it can be to look at the finish line miles down the road and wonder how I will ever get there. As a leader I know how overwhelming it can be to look at what needs to happen for change to take place in our communities. As a pastor I know how intimidating it can be to serve those who feel broken, hopeless, and desperate. Left to my own abilities, I would remain afraid, overwhelmed, and intimidated. But then I hear the voice of Jesus telling me to get up and walk!
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
—JOSHUA 4:4–7, NLT
God tells them …
When I take you across, build something.
When I give you the victory, build something.
When I get you to the other side, build something.
Not for your sake, but for the sake of your children and your children’s children, those who follow you.
More than ever I hear the Spirit say, “What I am doing is not just for you; it’s more about your children and your children’s children.” Because as it pertains to fulfilling destiny and advancing God’s kingdom in Jesus’ name:
God conquers.
You possess.
Your children inherit.
This is why the battle is so intense. This is why darkness prevails. This is why the kingdom suffers violence. Because it’s not just about you! It’s about the Father above you, Jesus in front of you, the Spirit inside of you, and your children who follow you! So when you get your breakthrough, build. When you cross, construct. But not for your sake!
Build something—for them!
Cross—for them!
Don’t give up—for them!
Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives.”
—NEHEMIAH 4:14, NLT
This means there are times God picked you up, not for your sake but for them. There are times you failed, sinned, went down, or turned from God, but God had mercy, not just for your sake but for them!
When God took you out …
When God picked you up …
When God cleaned you off …
When God redeemed, repaired, and restored you, He did not do it just for you—He also did it for them!
So why build a memorial? Why an altar? Because God wants you to tell them! Share the story! I know we grew up believing that there are certain things we must keep from our kids. I know the standard modus operandi is to protect our children from our failures. But with grace as your goal and love as your guide, tell them what you went through. Tell them what you faced. Tell them how you overcame by the blood of the Lamb and word of your testimony!
The greatest inheritance you can give your children is your testimony. Psalm 119:111 says, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart” (ESV). Stop trying to hide what God wants you to share. Tell them your story.
Once upon a time …
But God …
Instead of …
“This is my story, this is my song.”1
Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds.
—PSALM 145:4, CEV
What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next; they will proclaim your mighty acts.
—PSALM 145:4, GNT
So the people of Israel built an altar, a memorial, a testimony! And we do the same. Each stone is something that you overcame.
This is where God showed up.
This is where God broke my chains.
This is where addiction died.
This is where captivity was taken captive.
This is where fear fled.
Remember, God conquers. You possess. Your children inherit. And what does the inheritance of your children look like?
He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.
—MALACHI 4:6
But now this is what the LORD says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the LORD. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.”
—JEREMIAH 31:16, NLT
Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.
—ACTS 16:31, NLT
“In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”
—ACTS 2:17
The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here … sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place.”
—GENESIS 19:12–13
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
—JOHN 14:12–14
For at the end of the day God conquers, you possess, and your children inherit!
God calls each of us to take responsibility for our own lives. He surely wants to use us in the world to influence the lives of others and draw them to the same healing power they see manifest in our own. As Jesus explained while healing the blind man, He reveals His glory and power by doing the impossible in our lives. Perhaps we should recall the words of Edward Everett Hale, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”2
Will you continue to writhe on the generational ground of past paralysis?
Or will you stand and walk?
You have the choice.
You are next!