
Have you been stuck so long and you can’t remember what it was like before being stuck? Or are you waiting for the perfect time or circumstances to get unstuck?
The Guy at the Pool of Bethesda
This is the Bible story of a guy who was sick for 38 years, who tried without success to enter the Pool of Bethesda to get healed. I couldn’t help but wonder, how on earth could he be stuck for so long?! Then I realize: it might not be 38 years, but there are some areas of my life that I have been stuck for the longest time!
Jesus’ Question
Jesus asked the man: Do you want to be well? John 5:6
It might seem obvious, but the man didn’t answer Jesus in the affirmative. He replied, “I have no one to help me… Someone else goes down ahead of me” – John 5:7
I can’t help feeling this reply is so familiar! We always find excuses or justification for being stuck. This begs the question: do we really want to be healed? Have we been so comfortable being stuck, and our identity has become ingrained in it, that we unconsciously sabotage our efforts towards healing? Has the mat we are lying on become our so-called “security blanket”, like how a child clings to his/her security blanket for comfort and security?
Jesus’ Command
Then Jesus said to him, “Get Up! Pick up your mat and walk” – John 5:8
The man didn’t need the Pool of Bethesda, because he has Jesus to heal him. All that is required is his obedience – to get up, pick up his mat and walk.
All of us have our little “mats” that we are lying on and keeping us stuck – limiting beliefs, fear of change or fear of failure, past hurts and unforgiveness, waiting for perfect conditions, relying on others to help us, etc. And we have our metaphorical “Pool of Bethesda” – external circumstances, traditions or rituals that we rely on.
What Jesus is commanding us to do is to get up from lying on the fake “security blanket” mat and walk in obedience and faithfulness to God. Then true healing comes, and with it, freedom.
My Invitation
This is my invitation to you today: Get Up! Pick up your mat and walk.