When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6 NIV)
Sometimes there is an area within each of us that is just too painful to touch. We avoid dealing with the pain because we feel we are already a mess. We don’t want to expose the very thing that has caused us the most pain because we believe others might accuse or condemn us if they knew. We need to ask ourselves “do we really want to get well?”. Jesus said the truth will set us free. If we have done something wrong, we need to acknowledge it before God and be reassured that we are forgiven from all sin. If someone else has wronged us, we need to forgive them and begin the healing process. What we know for sure is, if nothing changes, nothing changes! God wants to heal and restore us so that we can live a meaningful and purposeful life. He could and would if He were sought!
At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:19-20 NIV)
The man that Jesus asked “do you want to get well?” had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He saw other people healed in a specific way but he never was able to achieve what they were able to do to be healed, so he remained an invalid. When he met Jesus he was not healed in the way the others had been, he was healed because he met Jesus.
Holding thoughts of accusation and condemnation of ourselves or others may cause us to be an invalid in life and recovery simply because we will not do what Jesus tells us to do. If we really want to live life to the full we need to focus on the word of God and let it lead us to the living water where we can be cleansed and healed and brought to new life one day at a time. Let’s let go and let God do His work in us today.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (2 Corinthians 10:5; John 7:37b-38 NIV)
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