Faith

The story of the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda is an interesting story in the Bible. The story is found in John 5. In Jerusalem, there was a pool which was called Bethesda. There were five porches around the pool and in these porches lay many sick people hoping for their miracle. According to the story, there was an angel that would come at a certain time and stir the water and whoever stepped in the pool first would be healed of whatever disease they had. There was a man that Jesus saw lying by the pool and knew the man had been in that condition for thirty – eight years. Jesus asks the man if he wants to be made well. The man doesn’t answer Jesus’ question. Instead, the man explains to Jesus why he is still by the pool and not well. He tells Jesus he has no one to help him get in the pool, and someone always makes it to the pool before him. Jesus ignores his explanation and instead says to the man, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” The man is instantly healed, takes up his bed and walks!

I think one of the reasons I find this story so fascinating is that this crippled man is obviously waiting and contending for a miracle. He has positioned himself for a miracle. He has been in this condition for a very long time but has not given up. He has put himself in the path of a miracle. Or so he thought. When Jesus comes to speak to the man and asks him if he wants to be healed, he begins to justify to Jesus why he is still crippled. He doesn’t say Yes! Yes, I want to be healed! Will you help me? I am assuming he knows who Jesus is and has heard what Jesus has done for other people. But even if he hadn’t, he could have asked Jesus for help getting into the pool. So even though this man had done what he needed to do to position himself for a miracle, when the miracle looked different than he thought it would, the man almost missed his miracle!

Have you ever been guilty of this? I know I have. I think there are many times when we are praying and contending and positioning our hearts for receiving what God has for us, but when God shows up, it looks completely different than what we had expected. This is when we have to be careful. We have to be careful not to miss God because it looks very different from what we pictured. We have to be careful that we don’t limit what we think God can do because of our own sight limitations. God is God and He sees the whole picture. His way is always better than our own ways.  

The man at the pool of Bethesda probably never envisioned his healing apart from the pool. Jesus could have healed him by asking a disciple to stay with him and help him into the pool the next time the water was stirred. He could have commanded an angel to stir the water and put the man in the water Himself. But instead Jesus chose to heal him in a completely different way. Jesus commanded the man to take up his bed and walk. The man took up his bed and walked and allowed his healing to come in a way he had not envisioned. That is what faith is all about!  I believe faith is positioning our hearts for what God has for us, but also realizing that since God is God, He can accomplish His purposes in ways that we have never pictured. I think that is what makes God so amazing!