I have had numbness in
my left foot (and sometimes also leg) since May 6, 2018. I know the date
because it is the only time that I have left a hockey game due to a physical
problem. I even played a game after dislocating my right shoulder in a game. Needless
to say, my whole arm was numb for an entire period!
I was warming up before
my game by skating around the rink and suddenly, my whole left leg went numb,
and I was in extreme pain. I tried to “skate-it-off”, but I could barely make a
full lap around the rink.
I left the rink, went
into the locker room, changed into my street clothes, packed up my gear, and
drove home.
When I arrived home,
Cathy, out of concern, asked me why I was home so early. I explained the
situation to her and because she saw that I was in pain (and because I had left
early), she told me to take a shower and then she would take me to Urgent
care.
At Urgent Care, they
gave me pain meds and sent me home…the next day I went to our primary doctor
and to our favorite chiropractor; Dr. Joel.
After that, I have been
doing everything I can to fix it including more chiropractic and weekly treatments
from our favorite PT Kathy…All with no complete healing. And it has been almost
six months!
Stating the obvious, I
want to be healed because I don’t like having a numb foot, and because my
outdoor hockey season is about to start.
Have you ever struggled
with an illness or physical condition for a very long time that won’t go away?
I
would like to invite you to get a Bible and READ John 5:1-16 and then read my observations…
“Bethesda” means “house
of kindness”. The Pool of Bethesda is deep enough to swim in. Beneath the pool
was a subterranean stream that would occasionally bubble up and disturb the
waters.
Ancient people believed
that the disturbance was caused by an angel who occasionally would come, stir
up the waters, and whoever stepped into the pool first would be healed.
To us it is mere
superstition, but it is the kind of belief that is all around the world today;
especially people who are ignorant of the Word of God and by people who are
desperate to be healed and will believe anything to get their healing.
One day Jesus was
passing by the pool and noticed a man who was sick lying on a mat.
The man had been sick
for 38 years! He had tried to get into the pool to be healed, but someone
always gets into the pool before him.
He was been committed to the same plan
every day to get his healing and it hadn’t worked because someone always got
their healing as they got in the pool first. And he was still sick, broken, and
he was frustrated
All of us as humans deal with brokenness:
Broken bodies, relationships, dreams, spirits…all
longing to be healed.
We fool ourselves by
telling ourselves; “It’s no big deal…” Trying to get through life walking with
a limp and keeping ourselves busy as we ignore the deep need we all have for
healing
But if we are truly
honest with ourselves, we too would like to just once be the first person in
the pool, and THEN we would be healed.
We hear how others have
gotten healed and set free, so we pursue our healing. We set out on a plan of
action for how we will get healed…
Someday, THIS plan will
work, you will see….
Some of us have given
up on ever getting healed and so we put our focus on our children. If one plan
doesn’t work we will try another. We will try harder, driver further, believe
harder…
Or we work on something
else like our career. We are constantly on the move; all in an attempt for us
to get rid of the pain in our lives.
And, like the man on
the mat, we never quite get into the waters to be healed. And what’s worse, we
lose focus and can no longer see God even when He is standing next to us.
Verse 6 Tells us that Jesus (the Healer) passed by the pool. But,
the man was too filled with discouragement to see Jesus. He was too focused on
being frustrated because no one helped him. In fact, this man almost missed
seeing the only One who could heal him.
Jesus asked a simple
question: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?”
Why would Jesus ask
that? Of course, he wanted to be made well! After all, he had been coming to
the pool every day.
Sometimes we can get so
used to the pain in our lives that we become a friend with it and it becomes
part of who we are; even part of our identification.
Our pain becomes like a
lizard on our shoulder: It irritates and hurts us all the time. It distracts us
and prevents us from being truly free. It takes away a part of us.
AND YET, we don’t seem
to be able to get rid of it and we treat it like it is our pet; not realizing
that also pushes everyone away from us.
So, Jesus persisted
with His question: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?” – “well”, “sound”, “whole” Do you REALLY want to be healed?
Verse 7 Look at how the man responded: “Sir, I
have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I
am coming, another steps down before me.”
This man hadn’t
listened to the question that Jesus asked him; “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?”
It seems to me that this
man wanted instead to form a committee to look into the problem; perhaps a
committee to regulate who goes into the pool…A committee who will make sure
that everyone gets their turn.
To me it seems that this
man wants a ticket booth set up so we know when it is our turn or some other way
to make sure that things are fair…THEN he will get his healing
Too often Jesus comes
to us offering life; “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and
drink. (John 7:37b)
And we respond by
asking Him what He is going to do about injustice. Or by asking Him to fix the
holes in the umbrella; instead of asking Him to stop the rain.
The man’s problem
wasn’t just a physical problem; he had a heart condition. He
was so focused upon himself. He was so focused on his plan that he couldn’t see
the possibility for God to do something.
The healer Himself was
present and all the man wanted was for Jesus to help him into
the water; not to heal him another way.
Verse 8 Jesus responded to the man’s complaints; “Rise,
take up your bed and walk.”
Verse 9 And immediately the man was made well!
He took up his bed and walked.
NOTICE: Jesus didn’t help the man into the pool. He didn’t dialog about the situation.
He didn’t analyze what was the solution. He healed the man.
Jesus came to set us
free, not help us in our futile plans.
Jesus didn’t get the
man a new job that paid better or get him a new mat. Or get
him new friends that would help him get into the pool. Or ask the Father to
send an angel to stir up the waters.
Jesus healed the man.
You see, Jesus came to
deal with the sin problem as well as the physical lameness. Verse 14 we read that the man’s condition was
due to sin. We don’t know what he did, but Jesus tells us IN THIS CASE, sin was
the issue.
Jesus
said to the man; “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon you.”
Jesus wants to do the same for each of us today: Not
help us in our futile plans. Not help us get into the water. He wants to heal
us totally in all areas of our lives.
The Heavenly Father
wants you to be whole TODAY; restored
to what God originally intended for you;
through receiving the work done on the cross by Jesus
This
healing is based upon what Jesus ALREADY did not your efforts! There was a very
real debt to be paid and Jesus paid it with His death, burial, and resurrection.
Q: Have you given your life to Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord?
Have you been transformed by the power of
the Spirit of God?
At this moment, you can bow your head and say, “God, be
merciful to me a sinner!” (He will hear that simple prayer).
You can do this right
now by praying in your own words like this:
·
Ask
Jesus to forgive you for your sins
·
Ask
Jesus to take His rightful place as LORD & SAVIOR
·
And
then turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin.
·
This is only possible
after Christ has come to live inside of you.
And the Spirit of God will come into your heart and will enable you to stop
trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus
Christ has already done.
The Healer is here
today- His Name is JESUS
We read in John 5:6 that when Jesus passed by the
pool, the man was too filled with discouragement to see Jesus. He was too
focused on being frustrated because no one helped him. This man almost missed
seeing the only One who could heal him.
Some of you are in that
same position today. Do you see Him here? Or are you simply struggling to get
into the water and mad that no one will help you in?
The Healer is here today-
His Name is JESUS
Do you hear Him calling
out to you? Or are you waiting
for an angel to come instead? Or are you mad because others have gone ahead of
you?
Jesus is asking each
one of us the same question today: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?” Physically, Emotionally,
Spiritually…
Why would Jesus ask
that? Of course we want to be made well; after all, we’ve been coming to church
for years!
The Healer is here today-
His Name is JESUS! How will you respond to his question that He is asking to
you? Will you respond with excuses? My family has always struggled with
this…It’s our generational thing…
Or Will you respond by rising up, taking up your bed and receiving your healing?
IT’S REALLY UP TO YOU….
But you will need to respond to the question that Jesus is asking…
When this happens; we need to look deeply at
how we are allowing wrong thoughts to influence what we think about ourselves.
