Apr 08
Today’s Truth
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 5:1-6
Friend to Friend
A mess is the perfect setting for a miracle. Our helplessness can be our most powerful offering – if we are willing to be honest and transparent. Sometimes it is a lot easier to just stay in the darkness than it is to struggle toward the light.
Not everyone really wants to be healed or rescued. Why?
Because their infirmity has become their identity or because their crisis now defines who they are and forms the familiar parameters of their life. Some people use their weaknesses to get the attention they crave or to keep from assuming any responsibility in their own lives.
Take the man at the pool of Bethesda for example.
The pool of Bethesda was the gathering place for anyone in need of healing. Many people believed that the first person in the pool after the water moved would be healed from whatever disease or illness they had. Since the pool was fed by springs, it is safe to assume that the water was stirred fairly often.
Jesus saw the man lying there and asked what some might consider an unusual question, “Do you want to get well?” The question was a valid one.
Was the man comfortable in his pain or was he willing to pay the price that healing requires? Was he ready and willing to do whatever Jesus asked him to do in order to be healed? Jesus wanted to know. He wanted to know if the man was helpless enough.
The man had been an invalid, unable to walk or stand, for thirty-eight years. The pool of Bethesda may have been his last hope. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly how long the man had been at the pool … but it was long enough.
“I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred,” the man replied. “While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
That was all Jesus needed to hear.
“Get up! Pick up your mat and walk,” Jesus said, and the man was immediately healed.
Notice that Jesus did not offer to carry the man to the pool. Jesus told the man to do what he had been unable to do for thirty-eight years – stand up and then walk. And the man had a choice to make. Every time we ask God for help, we have to make the same choice.
Are we helpless enough?
Are we ready to believe God and do what we have been unable to do on our own?
Are we willing to obey Him?
The man at the pool of Bethesda was healed the moment he looked into the eyes of Jesus and chose to receive the healing he saw waiting there.
There were many people at the pool that day – people who were paralyzed, people who were blind or sick or lame. But Jesus healed only one of them. He did not empty the five porches around the pool, healing everyone. He could have, but Jesus looked out over the crowd and chose to heal the most helpless man – the man who was honest about his pain, the man who was willing to believe God in the hard times.
Can you see yourself in this man? Have you been paralyzed by the pain of loss or rejection? Have friends betrayed you and left you lying by a pool of crushed hopes and dreams?
Jesus sees your helplessness. He knows your heart and hears your desperate cry. Today is the day.
Do you want to be healed?
Let’s Pray
Father, I come to You today with a faith that seems so small. I want to believe You, Lord. I want to walk by faith, knowing that You will keep every promise You have ever made. Help my unbelief, Lord.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Read Psalm 86:15 (NIV) “But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
What is the first step of faith you need to take today? Are you willing to take that step right now? Record your commitment in your journal and share it with a friend.
More from the Girlfriends
An unshakable faith is the foundation for the abundant life Jesus came to provide for each one of us. In Mary’s powerful message, 4 Steps to an Unshakable Faith, she shares the four steps we can take to cultivate an unshakable faith.
Be sure to check out the FREE MP3s on Mary’s website and connect with Mary through email or on Facebook.
Dear Women of GOD
This massage is GOD himself speaking direct to me. i have been rejected throughout my live and i am living in denial and betrayal.
thinking much right now makes me feel headache at the back of my head and is really affecting my heart. feeling like i have a wound inside my heart and at my back between the shoulders.
help me pray for strength to endure this, right now i feel is too much i cant manage on my own, i need someone to stand on the gap for me.
Prayers Tanya
Thanks Sherry
keep standing on the gap for me. i shall testify to his Glory.
Thanks Sherry
keep standing on the gap for me. i shall testify to his Glory.
Hello Tanya,
I have experienced much betrayal and rejection. Ask God to bring change to you, while He is bringing healing to your heart. He is able to restore what was lost, bring peace to your heart, and great hope. There will be a day where you will look at this situation “from the other side.” Many Blessings, Lisa
LISA SWEETHEART
Thank you for encouraging me. i live to see that day come to pass. not for me but to his glory.
LISA SWEETHEART
Thank you for encouraging me. i live to see that day come to pass. not for me but to his glory.
How do I get to a point where I truly feel worthy of His healing?
Kim,
I don’t know your situation or your pain but god puts us all here on this earth to do great things- sure we all make mistakes along the way but you are here for a purpose! God may be the only one who knows that purpose right now but you are worthy of his healing and so much more! Let god in and let him steer you in the direction of healing and towards your purpose in this beautiful journey we call life!
Kim
Just keep on studying God’s word! There really aren’t any of us that are worthy, except through his eyes! God loves you so much that his son died for you!! When we close our Bibles we extinguish his/our light! BELIEVE!! Wishing you an abundance of light! Dear God, Please help Kim see how worthy she is to you!! Amen!
Kim, He died for you! Please don’t doubt how much He loves you! I refused to forgive myself for years, until a friend told me that by doing that, I was telling Jesus that his crucifixion might just not be good enough. Let it go – knowing He loves you, He died because of that love for YOU, and his Grace is good enough! And Ypu are beautifully and wonderfully made and sooooo deserving of His healing. Praying for you, girlfriend.
I don’t know. I’m working on this. I do know that He loves us and that we are all worthy whether we feel that way or not. Feeling that way must be a recognition that He is the only way. I am trying to let go and let Him have my struggles. Every hour of every day I struggle with this.
God always gives us the message we need to hear! Thank you for working through GFIG to let many receive that message lord! Amen!
Thank you this was exactly what I needed to hear. In hard times my faith is so small and I realize that and I pray about it all the time. In those times its hard to commit yourself to the faith of the lord, but he is all we need, he is all we have ever had.
Nobody is worthy of his healing. Not a single person on this earth is worthy of healing from Jesus, you simply take your brokness and mess to him and trust him. You don’t have to fix yourself first, he’s in the business of healing and helping the worst of us and the most helpless and unworthy ones. I’m not worthy, I think I’m the least worthy, but I trust him to help and heal me everyday. And, I know it is hard because of fear and doubt and condemnation that tries to berate you in your mind, that happens a lot and that is from the enemy. The enemy tells you you are not good enough, and have to fix yourself first, but Jesus wants all of you now as you are and he will help you heal. He will.
Hi my name is Diane Carrillo, I believe how do I get to a point where I truly feel worthy of His healing. First of all, by confession my sin. Secondly, by believing when I pray He hear my prayer. Thirdly, by believing I am healed by Jesus Stripes.
Amen, Kim!
Kim God’s love mercy and grace is free to all of us if we choose to take the gift. We are all sinners saved by grace. God’s love is unconditional! You must let go and let God. Stay in his word and be silent and listen with your heart for you are always worthy…
Great comments, ladies. Know this … you are planned, wanted and loved by God. The plan came first. At times, it seems like your faith is small. God says it just has to be the size of a mustard seed. Don’t let the enemy tell you that your faith is too small or too weak. It all depends on Him … not you. God told the children of Israel to just put their toes in the water. They didn’t have to cross the river all at once. They just had to put their toes in the water and God did the rest. Just trust Him! God’s got whatever you are facing!
This is such an amazing devotional, and so God! My fiance broke up with me, which leads to two failed engagements. After this failed engagement, I realize that I truly need God to heal my heart. The day after the break up, I attended a women’s conference which was amazing! I realized that I have not felt worthy enough to be loved by God. My parents divorced when I was three years old, and have been trying to deal with the abandonment issues for this long. I realized that I have tried on my own strength because I have been ashamed, feeling unworthy, and harbored so many insecurities. At the conference, I was able to cry out to my abba father, and truly see him look into my eyes, embracing me. This is such a wonderful feeling! In the mists of this storm of my engagement ending, I was able to experience Gods love for me! I’m coming to terms that if the relationship cannot be redeemed, that I have Christ, and that is all I need. HE will get me through this no matter the outcome 🙂
I love how you ladies are ministering to each other! Awesome!