Do you want to get well?

“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 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?”
“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.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”
John 5:5-9 (NIV)

Arise and shine, dear one! God is with you!

On a recent family trip, we explored the Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia. I had never seen natural hot springs before, and it was fascinating to experience the warm, bubbling mineral water emerging from the ground. Several people would clammer around one location, squeezing in to dip their feet into the healing pools. As my children tested out the water, I told them the story of Jesus healing the man at the pool at Bethesda.

Imagine being crippled and struggling to make it to the source of what you believe to be the healing answer. Each day, as you watched the water stir, you used every ounce of your strength to pull yourself into the water first in hopes of a miracle, always missing your chance as others pushed their way in front of you. No one ever helped you and you begin to lose hope…until a man asked you the strangest question, “Do you want to get well?”

Kristi McLelland (Feasting on God’s Word, pg. 178) sheds some light on why Jesus may ask this. “Another way of understanding this question “Do you want to get well? Is that Jesus is also asking, “Are you ready to steward the wellness I can bring you? You know what it is to live lame. Are you ready to learn how to be a healed, walking man?” There is deep compassion in Jesus’ question.”

What about you, dear one? Do you want to get well? Are you ready to steward the wellness only Jesus can bring? As you allow the Holy Spirit to heal the deepest wounds in your heart, steward that healing by testifying to His miraculous work. Tell others what God has done and give Him the glory!