Have you ever struggled with making a decision? Have you ever been to a place where you knew you would be better off but for some odd reason or another you just stopped because you didn’t know how or what would result from making that decision? Many of us have a story to tell. Some have endured great persecution while others may have had smoother paths in their lives. Some may be ashamed to share their story while others have shared their experience from broken places. Today, I want to encourage someone to let them know they are not alone. God can heal your broken place and there will be glory after this. Whatever life may throw at us we have been given the choice of free will. We have a choice to stay broken or to be made whole. We have a choice to either let go of our past or to hold on to it. There are people who can easily let go but for some it may take months while for others it may even take years. Once you make the decision to let go and let God take control you allow your healing process to begin and allow God to fix those broken places and make you whole.
There is a story in the book of John which talks about a man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years. In this particular story this man went to the pool of Bethesda in anticipation of being made whole. Every season at a certain time an angel would trouble the waters and whoever went in first would be made whole of whatever infirmity they had. There were people who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed who came to these waters to be healed. As you read John 5:2-8, you will notice that the man never made it into the pool. While the bible doesn’t tell us specifically what his infirmity was or what caused him to not leap into the pool, I couldn’t help but imagine maybe something crippled his ability to make a decision. Maybe his condition or mental state caused him to give up at the moment of healing and deliverance. I couldn't help to think if I were that man, I’d crawl while I used my arms, just as soldiers crawl on the ground at bootcamp training, while sweat profusely ran down my face as it burned my eyes in hopes of making my way to the pool for my healing and deliverance. Once the destination was reached, I could then see a power struggle. Something happens. Someone else would always seem to receive their healing except for me.
Can you imagine doing this for thirty-eight years? Just imagine yourself as this man for a moment. You know you have been in your condition extremely too long but something keeps getting in the way of your healing. Maybe you became tired of fighting your way through your condition or maybe once you made it to your destination fear of drowning may have consumed you. Maybe, just like the man with the infirmity you have made excuse after excuse to convince yourself not to get into the pool. When Jesus finally asked the man if he wanted to be made whole, an excuse came up but Jesus responded, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.”
You see, it wasn’t enough to want to be made whole...an action needed to follow along with it. All those years, the man, who had been in that condition a long time, may have had a perspective of, “I’ll try again but I just can’t seem to make it on time.” The man made excuses why he couldn’t get in the waters but he didn’t recognize he had the ability to get in the pool all along. Maybe the stirring of the pool was an opportunity for that man to recognize that even in his infirmity, all he needed was an extra push, a new way of thinking, a made up mind with a renewed yes which would change his life forever. For some of us, we can be like that man; excuse after excuse. Today I challenge you to ask yourself, will you finally jump in the pool and receive your healing? What challenges have you been facing? Will you be made whole today? Make the decision to take that step towards your healing and deliverance. Rise. Take up your bed and walk.
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