We all have challenges to face. Life isn’t the way we pictured it. We all struggle with sin and with disappointment. Maybe your marriage is a wreck. Maybe your kids are giving you fits. Maybe it has something to do with work. Or, with your finances. Maybe you, like the invalid in our text, have been in a bad situation for years. I believe that God wants to work a miracle in your life. He wants so much more for each of us than we can imagine. If we’re going to experience the miraculous some things have got to change. You cannot keep on doing what you have always done and expect different results!
In John 5, we read that Jesus and His disciples had traveled to Jerusalem for one of the mandatory religious festivals. By the sheep-gate, which is located in the north-east corner of the city, near the Temple, there was a two-pool complex about the size of a football field. It was called the Pool of Bethsaida. It had five porches around it to keep people out of the weather. It was a natural gathering place for the people of Jerusalem – especially the blind, the lame and the paralyzed.
Those in need of healing came there every day because they believed that if the water was stirred, moved if you will, and if you were the first person into the pool, you would experience healing. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Rumor had it that the water was stirred by an angel. Not sure if it’s true. We’re not even sure if anyone was ever healed by being first. What I do know is that when things get bad, you and I are more apt to try anything if we think it will bring healing!
There was a man there who had been sick for 38 years. Not sure what his ailment was; he may have been paralyzed or extremely weak. What we do know is that he has been there a long time and that he couldn’t get himself into the pool when the stirring occurred. Sadly, he believed that his only hope was getting into the pool before anyone else. He was so weak that it wasn’t going to happen. And yet, every day like clockwork he went to the pool in hopes of being healed.
Does it sound familiar to you? How many people do you know who keep on doing the same things over and over again believing that it will one day produce different results? That’s the definition of insanity. We do it all the time. We know something has got to change. We know that our marriages need to get better, that we have to address our addictions, or that our kids need to be straightened out – but we keep on doing what we have always done expecting different results.
If you want God to do something new in your life, you cannot keep doing the same old thing. Jesus is calling out to you and me that “with God all things are possible.” He’s calling you to a step of faith, a new way of life. Healing comes on God’s terms, not ours. If we’re going to experience the miraculous, you and I will need to do a few things.
First, you have to determine if you really want to change. Jesus asked the invalid, “Do you want to change?” At first glance, it may seem like a silly question – of course he does! But think through this with me. Do you really want your marriage to be stronger? Do you really want to raise godly children? Do you want what God wants for your life and your family? No matter what goal you’re trying to achieve or what problem you’re trying to solve, you have to want to change – you have to be willing to pay the price. And, to pay the price, you have to see what life can be like with God in control. God declared in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God has a plan for your life!
Second, you and I need an accurate understanding of who God is and what He is capable of. The invalid didn’t have a clue who Jesus was. On that day he had no idea that the one standing before him was the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, who turned water into wine, who gave sight to the blind and healed the sick. John 1:3 tells us that all things were created by Jesus! The one who spoke the world into existence can change your life – Jesus can make the impossible possible. In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” He then followed up with the big question, “Who do you say that I am?” Who is Jesus to you? Is He Lord and Master?
Third, we must recognize how helpless we are apart from God which means we must be honest about our condition. In Psalm 51 David cried out to God, “Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:2-4). He didn’t try to excuse himself or sugarcoat things, and neither should we. The greatest holdup to healing in your life might be you!
Fourth, if you want God to do a new thing in your life you cannot keep on doing the same old things. The man in our text had been an invalid for 38 years. And I imagine, for many of those years he kept coming to the pool, thinking that today was going to be the day. What was he thinking? If you’re way isn’t working don’t you think it’s time to do things God’s way? In Isaiah 55:8-9 God declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Fifth, you have to realize that healing comes on God’s terms and not ours. Jesus commanded the invalid to get up, pick up your bedroll and walk. The directions were clear. Stand up on your own two feet. Bend over and pick up your mat. And now, walk. Could you imagine what was going through his mind? He hadn’t walked in 38 years! He didn’t know how to walk nor did he have the muscle strength to do so. No matter what your situation is, God’s Word has clear instructions on how to handle it. The question isn’t whether you’re capable of doing what needs to be done, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. The question is, “Will you follow His instructions?” God promises in Psalm 37:5, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act.”
Do you want to get well?
- Decide – is it time to get well?
- Take inventory – who is God to you?
- Be honest – you cannot fix things on your own
- Stop doing what you’ve always done
- Choose to live in obedience to the will of God
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