Do You Want to Get Well?

Last summer I found out I had 2 bulging discs in my neck. After countless treatment, in and out of the chiropractor, I finally found something that helped- acupuncture.

The only problem with this is that I faint easy.

The first time I went to get acupuncture and could finally sleep without being in pain- it hit me. “Ohhh, I have to go back every week and face my fear to get better.”

“God, is there any way I can heal without needles?!”

Have you ever had to endure something that was difficult because it was the only way to get better?

I think about when my kids are sick and hate taking medicine.

Do you want to be well?

In the Bible, Jesus asks this question to a man who was sick, lying by a pool for 35 years.

In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches, which is called Bethesda in the Hebrew language. This pool is near the Sheep Gate. Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed, and they waited for the water to move. Sometimes an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and stirred up the water. After the angel did this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had.

A man was lying there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be well?”

The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool when the water starts moving. While I am coming to the water, someone else always gets in before me.”

Then Jesus said, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk.” And immediately the man was well; he picked up his mat and began to walk. (John 5: 2-9)

The line that gets me every time is when the man says, “There is no one to help me… someone else always gets in before me.”

I wonder how many of us write that narrative over our own life:

There is no one to help me
I’m always going to be like this
I have no hope
These are the cards I was dealt

If we aren’t careful, we can get stuck on our “mat” throwing pity parties for ourselves.

Everyone by the pool thought that the water was what would heal them, but it was really their faith in Jesus!

Stepping into fears can be the first step into real faith.

When I found out I had a bulging disc the doctor said it was from trauma. I couldn’t pinpoint a time where I got hurt recently. Then it hit me –

Emotional trauma can feel like a car accident.

Just as I had to endure acupuncture, I also had to face my emotional scars.

Jesus is the ultimate healer.

He started to slowly change my thought patterns. He did it through sweet friendships, meditating on scriptures, bible studies, church sermons, letting go of fear, and showing me time and time again that he is faithful!

Just like he healed the crippled man, he can heal your heart, mind and body too.

I could’ve stayed on my mat.

I could’ve refused to get acupuncture.

I could’ve let the hurt replay in my mind.