The preceding verse is taken from the story of the paralytic that Jesus healed after he was lowered into a room through a hole in the roof by some of his companions. Jesus was initially challenged when he told the man that his sins had been forgiven, but afterward, healed him also.
It is noteworthy that Jesus told the man to pick up his bed (v.24). Interestingly enough, Jesus healed the man, but then instructed him to take up the couch that he had been lying. The bed was the place that he had been confined to for years. His bed, in a sense, had power over him because he was unable to get away from it. His bed represented who he was.
When Jesus told him to pick up his bed, verse 25 tells us "immediately he rose...and picked up what he had been lying."
The very place that he had been confined to was the thing that he took control over. He was not only forgiven and physically healed, he now held in his hands everything that represented who he was for so many years. He was at a place that he now had victory over it.
When Jesus Christ changes our lives, He gives us the power and victory over our past! Our past might be filled with excuses and reasons of why it didn't happen, or why it could never happen. It might be circumstances that have dictated us for many years.
At some place in time, we must take control over the thing that has held us prisoner for so many years. Low self esteem, addictions, vices, broken relationships, abuses are all things that seem to plague many people. But when Jesus Christ gives the command to RISE and TAKE UP THY BED - that is the time to get up and take control and claim victory over the your "bed."
