"Do you want to get well?" That is the question we must all ask ourselves. We all need healing of some sort. But many of us hold on to our maladies whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual, and refuse to let go. We let them define us. The become a convenient excuse for failing... for not being all we were created to be... the reason we are not as awesome as those we admire.
I often wonder about those Jesus healed. The man who had been blind all his life... the only thing he knew how to do was beg. What did he do when he could no longer use his blindness as a reason to beg? What about the woman who bled for so long? Did her family and friends suddenly take her in again or was she still ostracized, if only out of habit? And the man in the scripture above? Did he really want to be healed?
Jesus didn't wait for a real answer from the invalid by the pool. He healed him. Took away his excuses. Took away his very self-given identity. By healing him, Jesus told him God did not see him as an invalid, but a child of God every bit as valuable as anyone else. He was now going to have live life fully.
When, through no fault of our own, we are thrown out of our comfort zones, we have in reality been healed of something. It means God has taken away our excuses and we find ourselves faced with having to face life without a crutch that we had become used to. It can be really difficult. We may wish we could take back that infirmity and curl back up on our mats in a corner. But we can't. God says, "This is NOT who you are. You are amazing and talented and MY CHILD."
Father,
Help us to accept your healing so that we may move from the comfort of our infirmities into abundant life. Amen.
Joys: some one-on-one time with Cecelia; how much my preschoolers enjoyed making their prayer books in Sunday school; a warm, dry home
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