It is easy to turn to someone and ask for help in difficult and trying times, which is often our first option. I know that when I have faced a difficult challenge or problem that overwhelms me, I have taken that path at times and the Lord has had to straighten out my thinking. I was reminded of that while reflecting on Jesus’ miracle at the pool of Bethesda. The Lord pointed out once again the three key elements in His conversation with the man who had suffered with his infirmity for 38 years.
John 5:6-9 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. ESV
In times of trial, some Christians really don’t want to work through their problem. Their answer to Jesus’ question – “Do you want to be healed?” – is the same as the crippled man … “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Like the man, they would rather depend on someone else to provide the answer. They fail to take it upon themselves to heed the direction Jesus gave the man in answer to His question … the direction He is giving us today:
Rise … Set your faith to the very thing you are facing that you have determined you cannot do; Don’t run from your problem, face it head on.
Take up your bed … Leave no room for failure; Turn to the Lord and take action in faith in His faithfulness.
Walk … Comit to what He tells you; Take the first step, and the next, and the next; No one is going to do it for you … It is up to you.
The man was at the back and unable to get to the front of the line. But Jesus did not take Him to the front of the line; He took Him out of the competition to get into the pool all together.
Jesus was there in the present for the man and He is here in the present for His bride today, asking the same question … “Do you want to be healed?” How are you answering it when Jesus confronts you? I don’t think we can really answer the question until we are ready to answer. And being ready requires us to come face-to-face with the statement Corrie Ten Boom made … You will never discover Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have.