Often in life we ask or are asked stupid questions:
- Son, do you want a spanking?
- You say you love that man, what do you see in him?
- You're doing the same thing you have always done, do you expect a different outcome?
““Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?””
John 5:1-3, 5-6
That was a stupid question! What was his response?
““Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.””
John 5:7
He didn't answer the question! He was so comfortable in his present lifestyle, that he didn't really know anything different. He was afraid of a complete change in his life.
“Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,”
John 5:8-9
Why didn't Jesus heal everyone else at the well? He left them at the well sick and disabled. Just because you want to get well, doesn't mean you will get well.
Healing was not His point. The point was to show the power of God.
“and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.”
John 5:10-13
The man throws Jesus under the bus. The man's heart was still dead. But God was pursuing him - He was after his heart.
“Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
John 5:14-15
God pursues us all. He wants our heart. No matter what happens, His grace is sufficient for our needs. Our struggles, and our weaknesses, should drive us TO God, and demonstrate His strength and grace. Trials and tribulations will drive you toward God or away from Him. Let it drive you to Him. Run to Him. Rest in Him.
For more wisdom on how to live life, see: www.truthatlife.com
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