The Healing at the Pool

I guess its sort of inevitable to read stories about healing when you are sick for a long time and waiting for the day that it will come to your house. I was reading this one particular story about a man who was a 38 y/old invalid lying on the ground and couldn't get to the healing pool where he was convinced was his only chance for healing. When Jesus approached him he asked the man, "Do you want to get well?". I always thought that was a crazy question that was asked. I mean clearly the guy wanted to be healed. But after looking into the story further there was some underlying things going on.

First of all this guy wasn't looking at Jesus as his potential healer. He had his mind set on the water. So, when Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well I can see this guy starting to rant while complaining about people pushing past him so that he couldn't get in the water. He wasn't paying any attention to the man he was speaking to. It makes me wonder how many times I already have my heart and mind set on things working out another way...while the answer is right in front of me...speaking to me. A person could really spin their wheels trying to reach the "pool" when really all that was required was waiting for the "Healer".

But, it still was strange to me that Jesus would ask this guy if he wanted to be healed. I mean, of course he did. Clearly this guy was on a mission to be healed since he had set up camp next to the pool...or did he? It says that he was making a living begging right there so there was some pay off. When I stay stuck in the mud is it because others are keeping me there or I'm too afraid of searching out the unknown? At least I know this mud, right? But, we were never meant to live in mud...we were created for something much greater and more beautiful.

The other thought is that maybe he had lost his will to be healed. That is the one point that continues to keep me awake at night. How many things that have meant so much to me in my life that haven't come in a timely fashion have caused me to lose my will in praying and believing that one day it would happen. Its so easy to become bitter and throw up our hands when we don't get what we long for as quickly as we think we should. Do we think that just because we aren't married by 30 that our ship has sailed? Or, because we haven't been able to reconcile with a family member after 10 years of trying that it will never happen? Certainly being sick for two years has given me pause more than once wondering if my prayers are being heard. We look around and see others who are waiting for their chance in the "pool" and don't see it happening either. It just reinforces what we secretly believe...that maybe only good things happen to other people. If Jesus came and asked us, "Do you want to get married?", "Do you want to be free from the pain of your past?", "Do you want to be out of debt?" What would our answer be?

I believe the truth is we all have something we are longing for that seems to continue to escape us. Sometimes its because we aren't willing to ask for help getting into the "pool" and getting out of the mud and sometimes its because we have lost the will to believe for it and have resigned to let it go.

In Genesis 18:14 God says, "Is any thing to hard for the Lord?" It seems He wants us to ask Him for the impossible...and in the very least for things that are so heavy on our hearts and long to see come to fruition. I don't have a formula for waiting and believing and not losing hope. I only know I'm learning how to wait, how to believe and how to have hope. And how to recognize His face when He comes to me and asks, "Do you want to get well?" The only thing I know for sure is that He does come and does ask...and we have a choice. We can keep waiting by the pool because its safe, or we can decide that we don't want to pretend anymore that the thing we long for isn't there and begin to believe again that anything is possible.