I remember reading this story of the lame man in John chapter 5 during a time when I was facing some pretty serious health struggles. I had been to so many doctors, with so little answers. My body was crying out for help, but I simply couldn’t heal it in my own strength.
I love the way Jesus approaches this man by the pool in Bethesda. This was a real turning-point for me as I read the very direct question to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
The man replies to Jesus with, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (John 5:7, ESV)
I was so similar to this man…coming up with a thousand reasons why I wasn’t healed.
Lord…my thyroid is messed up, my hormones have changed, my metabolism doesn’t exist anymore, the fatigue is crushing so I can’t even work out, the anxiety and depression stops me from living my life. I can’t do this, Lord.
While these were all real and actual experiences I was having, embedded in there was a whole range of excuses. And we all have our own excuses, right? We all have our own reasons that we keep coming back to…things that keep us stuck beside that pool.
Something God reminded me of time and again in this season was this simple (but sometimes hard to grasp) truth:
You don’t need to earn my love.
You don’t need to earn my healing touch over your body, spirit, and mind.
But you do need to partner with me in the healing, I want you involved.
It’s funny because I was actually more of Pharisee in my thinking when it came to healing. On paper, my theology agreed with what Jesus said — I don’t have to earn a thing. It’s all finished with the work of the cross.
But in reality, my actions resembled the Pharisees. I thought if I got eight hours of sleep, drank enough water, ate certain foods, exercised a certain way, and took all my vitamins…I would be in perfect health! But my health actually never depended on me and my own power. It depended on Christ’s power working in and through me. I am not the healer, He is.
During this season of about eight years of health struggles, I remember wondering why God didn’t just heal me on the spot. I asked Him candidly, “You can do it, God…so why don’t you?”
The answer was always to wait and see what He would do. The answer was a quiet partnering of my soul to His that needed to happen. The answer was obedience out of love…He wanted me to meet Him halfway. There were some things I had to learn before the healing actually took place.
At the end of Pastor Jason’s message he shared this beautiful truth: Through Christ, we all have life.
The fact that we even woke up today and are alive is only by His grace. The eternal life available to us through Christ is so beyond what we can even fathom. And we are given that. We look forward to that.
I think that is why Paul says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18, NIV)
There is something much deeper at work, and one day we will look back on these moments of suffering and it will pale in comparison to the glory. Oh, what beautiful glory awaits.
I reached out to a friend this week who also struggles with anxiety, and we shared a mutual excitement of one day having these amazing heavenly bodies that will know no more fear, anxiety, exhaustion, or depression. Those heavenly bodies will be glorious. The fear and the pain will all pass away.
As we look forward to that day, let’s partner with God in what He is doing here and now. When He finds us, like He found this man after the healing…and wants to deal with the sin in our hearts…let’s take Him up on that.
Is it painful to expose these areas? Yes. Do we sometimes return to the same old sins just as the dog returns to his vomit in Proverbs 26:11? Yes. But in the uncomfortable exposing, we get a taste of what is to come.
I have to wonder…what freedom awaits on the other side of all our familiar sins? What little slice of heaven will we experience in that freedom?
Oh Lord, let us walk in obedience to what you have called us to do. We want to be healed.
I love the way Jesus approaches this man by the pool in Bethesda. This was a real turning-point for me as I read the very direct question to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
The man replies to Jesus with, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (John 5:7, ESV)
I was so similar to this man…coming up with a thousand reasons why I wasn’t healed.
Lord…my thyroid is messed up, my hormones have changed, my metabolism doesn’t exist anymore, the fatigue is crushing so I can’t even work out, the anxiety and depression stops me from living my life. I can’t do this, Lord.
While these were all real and actual experiences I was having, embedded in there was a whole range of excuses. And we all have our own excuses, right? We all have our own reasons that we keep coming back to…things that keep us stuck beside that pool.
Something God reminded me of time and again in this season was this simple (but sometimes hard to grasp) truth:
You don’t need to earn my love.
You don’t need to earn my healing touch over your body, spirit, and mind.
But you do need to partner with me in the healing, I want you involved.
It’s funny because I was actually more of Pharisee in my thinking when it came to healing. On paper, my theology agreed with what Jesus said — I don’t have to earn a thing. It’s all finished with the work of the cross.
But in reality, my actions resembled the Pharisees. I thought if I got eight hours of sleep, drank enough water, ate certain foods, exercised a certain way, and took all my vitamins…I would be in perfect health! But my health actually never depended on me and my own power. It depended on Christ’s power working in and through me. I am not the healer, He is.
During this season of about eight years of health struggles, I remember wondering why God didn’t just heal me on the spot. I asked Him candidly, “You can do it, God…so why don’t you?”
The answer was always to wait and see what He would do. The answer was a quiet partnering of my soul to His that needed to happen. The answer was obedience out of love…He wanted me to meet Him halfway. There were some things I had to learn before the healing actually took place.
At the end of Pastor Jason’s message he shared this beautiful truth: Through Christ, we all have life.
The fact that we even woke up today and are alive is only by His grace. The eternal life available to us through Christ is so beyond what we can even fathom. And we are given that. We look forward to that.
I think that is why Paul says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18, NIV)
There is something much deeper at work, and one day we will look back on these moments of suffering and it will pale in comparison to the glory. Oh, what beautiful glory awaits.
I reached out to a friend this week who also struggles with anxiety, and we shared a mutual excitement of one day having these amazing heavenly bodies that will know no more fear, anxiety, exhaustion, or depression. Those heavenly bodies will be glorious. The fear and the pain will all pass away.
As we look forward to that day, let’s partner with God in what He is doing here and now. When He finds us, like He found this man after the healing…and wants to deal with the sin in our hearts…let’s take Him up on that.
Is it painful to expose these areas? Yes. Do we sometimes return to the same old sins just as the dog returns to his vomit in Proverbs 26:11? Yes. But in the uncomfortable exposing, we get a taste of what is to come.
I have to wonder…what freedom awaits on the other side of all our familiar sins? What little slice of heaven will we experience in that freedom?
Oh Lord, let us walk in obedience to what you have called us to do. We want to be healed.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.