Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people – blind, lame and paralyzed – lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!” Instantly the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! – John 4:1-9
The man in the scripture is nameless. The Bible does not tell us who he is. All we know is that he had been suffering some disability for a good thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years is a really long time to be sick! Even though Jesus already knew how long he had been in this miserable condition, He walks up to this sick man and asks him if he wanted to be healed. Of course he was looking for healing! It is not easy being segregated from the rest of the world – stuck in the company of miserable sick folks. Most healthy people do not like to hang out with the sick – especially if their ailment is contagious. One thing I have noticed about miracles in the Bible, the Lord always wants the one in need of healing to be an active participant in their own healing because there is great ownership in participation. It is certain that God is always the initiator of any kind of recovery but that does not minimize our participation. He wants us to be a part of the process – we will have no testimony otherwise.
I can liken the five porches at Bethesda to the different cliques we have in society today. We often gravitate towards people who have the same disease as we do. The blind will rather hang out with the blind; the lame with the lame and the haute with the haute. There is the school of tough that believes that we often attract what we are. If we are negative, angry and bitter, we attract people who are plagued with similar issues as misery loves company. And healing is extremely difficult when everyone around us is just like we are. In order to get better we must surround ourselves with people who are feeling good. The man in this scripture had been sick for a long time and to make matters worse, he was segregated with folks who were equally as sick as he was. He had missed the opportunity to get healed when the water is stirred once a year because he had no-one to help him. Sometimes there will be no-one around to help us in our time of need and we have to help ourselves. Even if the water is stirred only once a year, this man had 364 days to prepare – move closer to the edge of the water so that once the stirring occurs, all he has to do is simply roll into the water. This man was certainly not prepared.
This section of scripture tells me a few things about healing and recovery:
1) Only God Can Heal.
2) We must have faith and trust in the Only God that heals and do our part and following what the scriptures say. It is important that we remove word ‘can’t’ from our vocabulary if we are to receive our healing. We must remember always that the Bible says that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
3) We must be prepared for our healing. You cannot get an ‘A’ if your preparation deserves an ‘F’.
4) We must be able to accept our healing instantly by faith even though it may take some time for recovery as any lasting recovery requires process.
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