Write Like You Breathe

Do You Want To Get Well?

"One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to get well?' 'Sir,' the man answered, 'I don't have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me.' 'Get up,' Jesus told him, 'pick up your mat and walk!' Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk...."

John 5:5-9

Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked the man who needed healing if he wanted to get well?

I mean, why in the world would you ask a person who has been seriously ill for 38 years if he wants to get well? Obviously, his answer would be a "yes". But Jesus didn't ask this question to be insensitive nor to discount the pain that this man has been going through. He asked a sincere question that needed a sincere answer.

Jesus asked because he wanted to know if the man really wanted to receive his healing.

However, instead of answering Jesus with a resounding "yes", his response was:

7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." - John 5:7

He did not answer Jesus' question. He rather pointed out the reason why he hasn't been healed. He complained about his circumstance. He magnified the fact that he was invalid and he had no one to help him get into the pool. He complained about his disability and about how others got into the water first before he did. He blamed other people for his situation.

What Jesus wanted to hear was an answer, but what He only got was an excuse.

The same is true for some of us. Sometimes, people would rather complain and make excuses than admit their need for healing. They magnify what was done to them and they blame other people. They point fingers. They make excuses. And they choose to stay victims of their situation for the rest of their lives.

But no, this is not to say that their pain is invalid. This is not to discount the wounds they bore because of their past. This is not to say that what they've gone through can easily be dismissed. No. Not at all.

All of these are very much valid and reasonable. But no one has to stay in their pain forever.

However, some people would rather wait on the sidelines while allowing their scars to completely shape who they are and the way they live their lives.

And sometimes, all they do is wait.

They wait for people to accept them. They want people to accept their brokenness but they refuse to receive healing. They want people to affirm their wounds and feel for what happened to them in the past, but they don't want to be changed. They refuse to accept healing. They refuse to get out of their mats.

Because getting out of that mat is not easy. It's painful. It requires an act of surrender.

For some, maybe picking up that mat means releasing forgiveness to the person who caused them so much pain. Maybe it means surrendering every wound, every hurt, every rejection, and every failure to Jesus.

Maybe it means hoping and believing for miracles again.

Maybe picking that mat means deciding to get out of your place of unforgiveness, offense, resentment, anger, blame, and guilt.

Maybe picking that mat means to stop making excuses and finally admit your need for healing—your need for a Savior.

Because the truth is, you don't have to stay in that mat forever. Jesus wants to make you well. He knows your griefs. He knows your failures. He knows the rejections you've experienced. He knows your wounds. He knows the pain you've been through and the scars you bore because of the battles you fought.

He knows.

He understands.

He understands what you've been through, but He doesn't want you to remain in your pain.

He wants to make you well. He wants to break the chains that bind you. He wants to offer healing and forgiveness. He wants to fill you with hope. He wants to give you a new heart—one that's been made whole by His love.

He knows it's not going to be easy, but He promised He'll fight your battles with you. And He's never leaving you. He never did and He never will.

God wants to take you out from your place of brokenness. He doesn't want you to lie on that mat forever.

The only question is, "Do you want to get well?"

You have a choice.

Will you stay in your mat forever? Or will you make a decision and say, "Be as it may, but I'm gonna pick up my mat and walk . . . in faith, however painful the going may get"?

I hope you choose the latter.

*****

Blog originally posted on: https://jadewritestuff.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/do-you-want-to-get-well/