Do you want to be made well? 

It is written, Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty- eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”-  John 5:5-6

John narrates a story of a helpless man who could not walk but desperately wanted to such that for thirty- eight years He went and lay by the pool of Bethesda, hoping each day to receive healing. The man kept going to the location because he still had hope in him that on this day he would receive his healing even though he didn’t know how as he could not walk and get himself first into the pool.  The scripture tell us that this pool was a known pool where all the lame, the sick and paralyzed would park waiting for a specific moment where an angel of God would come and stir the water and whoever stepped first in would be healed. 

Now there are real circumstances that prevented this man from getting in the pool first, even though for thirty-eight years he tried, his biggest barrier was that he could not walk by himself and get in the water. He needed someone to help him get in first. This is in the context of what we hear is a location of miracles where many would be queuing waiting to go and the many include those who do not have a challenge to walk. But when Jesus spoke to this man, it sounds like he expected that his desire to be well would have propelled him forward despite the inability to walk.

Why are you not healed, do you want to be healed? Jesus is telling us that it is easy to get addicted to your infirmity, it is easy to get familiar with being “arg shame”, it is much easier to identify as a single- mother because it gives you permission to not complete. God is reminding you that you can be whole. You can be a whole parent if you desire to be and that desire would be enough to make you. He reminds you and I that the woman with the issue of blood, the bible tells us about had been in that miserable situation for 12 years but still knew there was better. She spoke in her spirit that “only if I could touch the hem of His gown, I will be well” and when she managed despite her challenges of reach, she was healed. The healing started from what she believed. What do you believe?

The Lord is not expecting us to be ignorant, He just expects us to walk in the strength we have and let Him meet us at our point of need. He reminded me of the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, the bible tells us Zacchaeus understood his challenge of height and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see Jesus as he heard Jesus was coming his way (stirring of the water moment) and when Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was the bible tells us “ He looked up and said to him “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.””- Luke 19:5-6. The story continues to speak of the judgement from the community because Jesus chose to go eat with a sinner Zacchaeus (the tax collector, no I meant Lungie, the single mother). But Zacchaeus did not focus on that, he focused on his moment of the water stirring and received his encounter. 

 This encounter became the open door for the whole household to receive salvation. The Lord is expecting you to jump into the pool today while the water is stirred up because salvation for your family is at your door.

Be blessed, Happy #ThirstyThursday 

#QuenchMyThirst #ThirstyThursday 

Thank God, Jesus pursued me.

LM

Lungie@quenchmythirst.life