The Man At the Pool

I have heard how Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda but I haven’t actually read that verse until now thanks to Chosen…if you haven’t watched that series, please do because it just excites your spirit and it just pushes you to get to know God more. Now that I’ve advertised this series let me move on to why we are here.

Today’s blog is from John 5:1-9. A summary of the story is there was this Jew feast so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda where all kinds of sick people are gathered; the lame, the blind, the paralysed. In our time now we’d say the people with cancer, Covid, kidney failure, and so on. The reason why they were there was because they were waiting for the moving water. It was said that “an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had”

‭‭(John‬ ‭5:4‬). Now this man that had been there for thirty eight years, waiting for healing was approached by Jesus and was asked “Do you want to be made well?”. The man then answered, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me” (John‬ ‭5:7‬). Then Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk and immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked” (John 5:8-9). What a beautiful story. I can tell you I shed a few tears here and there.

What I learned from this story was that your miracles can be right in front of you but you can’t get to it. The problem with this man was that the only reason why he couldn’t get to the stirring water was because he couldn’t get to it. No one was there to help him get to the water. Everyone there came to try and get to the water and get their own healing. No one was there to say “well, since you’ve been here for a while, let me get you into the water before me…no!”. The thing is he had faith that when he gets to the water, he will receive his healing but he wasn’t getting there. It said in John 5:7b that “but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” You want to get that promotion but ten more people also want that promotion so they are rushing for it. You want to be selected as the best student but a hundred more people are stepping in front of you for it. You are bidding on that house but so is the whole England too. The miracle is right in front of you but getting to it is hard. Your faith is sky high but you are not seeing the results. You keep getting disappointed because people keep getting it before you…like “Lord, why not me?”. You start getting hopeless cause Mark 11:24 says “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” I have prayed and I have believed but still nothing.

Today I bring you the remedy. Your legs might be tied up so getting to the water is impossible. But at the end of the story, we saw that the man walked. Not because someone helped him into the water, but because Jesus personally came to him and told him to rise up and walk. Sometimes, we need to change our prayer point to see our results. Your faith is there, perfect, but you need to tell God, “Father, please personally visit my situation”. You need Jesus to come to you separately. You need Him to walk to only you and perform this miracle. “Lord, I know thousand others want it but Father, I need an individual, personal, one to one result”. “Lord, visit me! I know six people need healing but Lord, I seek for you to come to me and tell me to walk”. “Lord, I know that everyone here needs financial breakthrough but please Lord, come to me individually as you went to this man”. It sounds like a selfish prayer but sometimes, you need Jesus to come to you alone. Your miracle might be in front of you, and getting to it might be hard, but don’t lose faith and pray for the presence of the Lord to visit “your” situation. May God bless you as you rise and walk this week.

Prayer: Our Heavenly Father we thank you today. God we thank you for your power and your miracles. God we thank you for being a God that does the impossible things. As we journey through the rest of the year, help us reach what you have set before us. Visit us personally Lord. We believe our miracles are in front of us, but sometimes it’s unreachable so help us hold on to our faiths when that happens and remind us that we need to call you to us. This we ask in Jesus name, Amen.