Are you interested in growing and going deeper in the things of God amid all that is happening? We need to stay focused on Jesus because He is the Answer. Today I want to share with you about “When the Answer Asked a Question.” That question is still relevant for us today.
John 5:1-6 says, “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’”
This was an important question for a man who, for thirty-eight years, had likely become used to being unwell. This question was Jesus’ offer to change this man’s life forever.
John 5:7-9 says, “The sick man answered Him, ‘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.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.”
This pool was called Bethesda, and it had five porches near it. The word Bethesda means “kindness,” and number five means “grace.” So, whoever could plunge into the depth of God’s kindness and grace could get whatever they needed for their lives to be made whole—not just healed but made whole. Being made whole doesn’t mean just fixing your problems; it means breaking mindsets and thinking patterns that keep you sick, defeated, discouraged, or downtrodden.
Notice how the man responded when Jesus asked, “Do you want to be made well?” He didn’t say, “Yes, please.” He instead said he had nobody to help him get into the pool. He had tunnel vision, thinking that was the only way God could work. We also have tunnel vision sometimes. There are various ways God can move in our lives and change our situations, but we get stuck in our thinking.
The man Jesus spoke to was not living life to the fullest. That was not what Jesus wanted for him. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (see John 10:10). When we are not living abundantly, it can be tempting to bring our levels of expectation down to our realities. I want to remind you that we serve a God who can do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (see Ephesians 3:20).
If God can do better than you can ask or think, why let your environment lower your expectations? Do you really want to be made whole, or have you become complacent and comfortable with being broken? If you’re discouraged and everyone else around you is discouraged, then discouraged becomes your new normal. However, you don’t have to accept the new normal.
God sees you differently than you see yourself, and He can make you free. John 8:36 says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” He doesn’t just set you free; He makes you free. If you’re set free, you can be bound up again, but if you’re made free, you cannot be bound again. You will not see your challenge as anything more than a temporary situation, because you were made free.
Jesus, who is the Answer to all problems, still asks this question: “Do you want to be made well?” I used to think this was a silly question, but I now realize it is not. Some people are comfortable with remaining the same. Their identities and lifestyles are built around their problems and dysfunctions. God won’t make you well against your will. You must come in agreement with God in both your words and actions. Your response will tell you whether you’re in agreement with what God has said about your life and purpose.
Any time you justify your condition, you give it a reason to stay. You may say, “Well, I was getting up, but someone got in front of me.” Let me tell you something: you have to want it bad enough to get in someone’s way to get it. You have to want it bad enough that you’ll press through the crowd like the sickly woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (see Luke 8:43-48).
You may be really close to experiencing your breakthrough and diving into God’s grace and kindness, but you’re looking for other people to motivate you and encourage you to take that step. Be encouraged! It’s your time to experience God’s grace and kindness. He loves you like crazy, and He doesn’t want you to stay the same. So, take up your bed and walk.
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Blessings,
Chris Reed | President & CEO
MorningStar Ministries
