Christian Living

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He Calls the Crippled
By Jacob M. Rodriguez

Samuel 4:4 (NLT)
(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed at the battle of Jezreel. When news of the battle reached the capital, the child’s nurse grabbed him and fled. But she fell and dropped him as she was running, and he became crippled as a result.)

Samuel 9:1-13 (NLT)
One day David began wondering if anyone in Saul’s family was still alive, for he had promised Jonathan that he would show kindness to them. He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.
“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied.
The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them in any way I can.”
Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive, but he is crippled.”
“Where is he?” the king asked.
“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.” So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low in great fear and said, “I am your servant.”
But David said, “Don’t be afraid! I’ve asked you to come so that I can be kind to you because of my vow to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the land that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you may live here with me at the palace!”
Mephibosheth fell to the ground before the king. “Should the king show such kindness to a dead dog like me?” he exclaimed.
Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for his family. But Mephibosheth will live here at the palace with me.”
Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, replied, “Yes, my lord; I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly with David, as though he were one of his own sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. And from then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, moved to Jerusalem to live at the palace.


Mephibosheth was born into a family of royalty. His father was Jonathan and his grandfather was Saul. One could assume that he had a great future ahead of him; a future of prosperity and prominence. He was born with the world before him and every opportunity to excel in his dreams. But like an abrupt earthquake, Mephibosheth’s life was taken from him. The scripture unveils a time when the reign of Saul and Jonathan was overthrown. In an instant, Mephibosheth’s family was torn and trampled. When deadly news reached the palace of Saul, disorder and chaos broke out. Servants were running in aloofness. Officers were gathering up their armor. Royal advisors were loosing their minds. Kids were crying in confusion. Utter dysfunction infused the entire palace.

In the midst of the mayhem, a hysterical nurse scooped little Mephibosheth in her arms and attempted to flee. But in the rush of her hysteria and confusion, she accidentally dropped him to the floor. And from that point on, he was lame and crippled.

A Paralyzed Prince
Pain and trauma can cripple us. They can demobilize our potential and handicap our dreams. The sting of unanswered wounds has incapacitated the hearts of people for generations. And while nobody deserves to be abused, misused, wounded or damaged, the fact is clear, we all have been crippled at one time or another. We all know what it feels like to have our lives dropped to the floor. Whether someone broke your bones or broke your heart, if you live in the world long enough, life will hand you unexpected grief.

Mephibosheth was delivered a painful blow that knocked the future out of his reach. He, in his own power, could not ever walkout his purpose. He was literally frozen by the fracture. In reality, many of today’s Christians are frozen by a fracture; fractures in the heart, fractures in the mind, fractures in the body and so on. I frequently come across God-fearing people whose minds are programmed to live within the boundary of there fracture. For one reason or anther, they can’t live beyond their past experiences. From the day that Mephibosheth was dropped, he was probably regarded as the crippled one or the paralyzed prince. Without doubt, his life was labeled by his condition.

Shame in the Lame
What shame Mephibosheth must have felt growing up. His grandfather and father were killed in battle, his home was taken from him and his legs were lame. In these types of situations, it is Satan’s purpose to shame us and belittle what little faith we have left. Often times, it is the lame area that he tries to shame us with. When the devil shames us, he’s hoping to cause us to turn against ourselves and take the blame for everything. Self judgment and condemnation can destroy your self-esteem and confidence.

I’ve read that many women who are raped will often feel guilty or responsible for what happened to them. That is the devil’s manipulation at work; to make the victim not only feel like the victim, but also the villain. When you recognize and acknowledge your offender, it gives you the ability to channel your frustration to that person. But if (in your eyes) you are the victim and the offender, your frustration is not released, it’s recycled. Meaning, your pain continually circles your life and never seems to flee. Shame will cause this feeling and I truly believe that Mephibosheth suffered from it.

God Needs your Need
God reveals His power and purpose when we have a crippling need. He is drawn to it like a bumblebee is drawn to nectar. Throughout the New Testament, I rarely read of Jesus abiding in places where everyone was sinless, healthy, rich or powerful. On the contrary, Jesus was attracted to people who were in desperate need. I see Him drawn to the crippled and the blind and I see Him resting with failures and sinful creeds.

We commonly declare that God (being all-sufficient) doesn’t need anything. And while this maybe true in the sense that He has all power and knowledge and fills time and space, God does have a need. There are some things that God does not have within Him; such as sin, sickness and blemish. Those things come from us. Understand that God doesn’t adopt our sins, sicknesses and blemishes, He absorbs them. Just like the woman who had the issue of blood; when she touched the hem of Christ, He didn’t adopt or inherit her sickness, He absorbed it in his Glory and Power.

You may ask “why does God need my need?”, because without your need or without your lameness, many of you would have never experienced God. Because your doctor said “I can’t operate”, you reached for God. Because your family couldn’t function, you reached for God. God needs your need so He can reveal His Glory in your life. Don’t despise what is crippled, because that crippled situation is what carries you to the calling.

Your Position vs. Your Condition
Mephibosheth was crippled. He had a need. Yet even though he felt abandoned and forgotten, God still honored his original place in the kingdom. David called for Mephibosheth to be brought back to the palace that he might reinstate His position as a prince. David looked pass is lameness and saw a man whose condition couldn’t replace his position. In the same manner, God is looking at you today and saying, “Your condition doesn’t delete your position”.

Whether you’ve been abused or refused, you are still a prince or a princess in the eyes of God. The Lord does not view us based on our problems, He views us a based on our position as His son or daughter. Just like when the prodigal son returned home from the world, his father wasn’t affected by his stinky clothes and wounded spirit, but rather he received him with grace. Because in the father eyes, he didn’t see a failure or sinner, he saw his son! Sure, he knew that his son was crippled (so to speak), but it was the son’s crippled situation that carried him home.

Reverse the Shame
Sitting at the king’s table, Mephibosheth proved God’s grace. Did God heal his body? Did God fix his legs? No, He fixed his heart. In this situation, it wasn’t about Mephibosheth being able to walk again; it was about him being able to live again. It was his crippled issue that brought him into the king’s court. I could imagine him saying in his mind, “Satan, you thought you had me, you thought my crippled legs would destroy me, but in fact they propelled into the palace”.

The thing Satan bruises is the thing God chooses! Mephibosheth reversed the shame against his life. His name literally interprets as “one who destroys shame”. Hallelujah! God has given you the ability to destroy all shame! It’s time for you to sit at the table with God. It’s time for you to reclaim your life and denounce your shame. Satan is under your feet! All of us have a crippled area, but God calls the crippled and uses them for His glory.

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