Have you ever been crippled? Maybe you’ve broken an ankle, a leg or had foot surgery. Perhaps you had a crippling fear that weakened you; possibly you were an emotional cripple or even financially unable to move.
Most of us have been crippled at one point or another. Imagine now that this wasn’t something you could get over and the longer you lived with limitation it began to steal away your hope.
That describes the man Jesus met by the pool side. He had been a cripple for thirty-eight years. 38 years! Thirty-eight years he waited for his miracle and quite frankly I think he had lost hope.
“Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some of them were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So he asked him, ‘Do you want to be well?’ 7 The sick man answered, ‘Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can.’” John 5:3-7 ERV
Do you hear him? “Nobody will help me, there’s nothing I can do about my situation, I’m stuck!”
“Then Jesus said, ‘Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ 9 Immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and started walking.” John 5:8-9 ERV
The man thought there was no help but the power of the Word of God spoken over our lives is life changing.
“ With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 ERV
I’m sure this man sensed the power in Jesus’ words. This was no ordinary man, these were not empty words. They brought hope and hope brought action; this man went from a cripple to a person of determination and strength.
This isn’t just a nice story of healing that happened in the Bible long ago, it is an example to us for today. We have an open invitation to come to God’s throne and when we come, we find the help we need.
“16 Jesus was doing all this on the Sabbath day. So these Jews began trying to make him stop. 17 But he said to them, ‘My Father never stops working, and so I work too.’…19 But Jesus answered, ‘I assure you that the Son can do nothing alone. He does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does.‘” John 5:16-19 ERV
Our Father never stops working! He is still working today and the things He does, He does because He loves us.
“Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.” Ephesians 3:19-20 ERV
Our part is to walk in obedience.