Do You (Really) Want To Be Healed?

One of the things I love/hate about my personality is, that if I am going to do something, I am going to do it well! None of this half-hearted business, I am all in, or I’m not in at all!

If I’m going to burn out, I am going to do it well.
If I’m eating healthy, there is NO junk food and I will not deviate from the plan.
If I’m going to exercise, it’s going to be a half marathon or nothing!

So when it comes to reading the Bible, I tend to skim read, or research! This week it has been researching.
I read in John 5 about the pool of Bethesda. Oh my goodness, when you delve into the history, it is fascinating and I have spent hours and hours this week reading and listening to teachings on it.

Oh, the things I have learned, but I’ll leave it to you to find your own gold. But one thing that really stuck out to me was when Jesus asked the man (who had been there for 38 years!)

“Do you want to be healed?”

At first, I thought this was a rhetorical question, but the more I learned, the more I realized its depth. Of course, Jesus was going to ask a deep theological question that would require more than a quick yes or no answer!

The first thing the man did was to try and blame his circumstances on others (there was no one to carry him to the pool….) but once he gets past that, there is the question of what would be next for him? 

All this man had known for the last 38 years was to lie by a pool amongst other invalids, in the hope of being healed. He had not worked, had not been a normal society member, hadn’t earned money, or even attended the Temple.

Everything this man had known was going to be completely shaken if he was healed. Life as he knew it would be no longer. He would leave his “normal” life, he would leave his “home” and he would leave his “friends”. He would pick up his mat, never to return again.

What a price to pay. No wonder he questioned if it was what he really wanted!

I think this remains true for many of us today. Of course, we want to be healed but are we willing to do what ever it takes to get that healing? Are we ready to give up the things we know, the things we are comfortable with? Are we ready to walk away from life as we know it, and walk into the unknown?

It’s easy to say we want healing, but it’s another thing to pay the price and walk it out. It’s easy to become comfortable with whatever ails us. For it to even become our identity.

But Jesus is calling us out and asking us “Do you want to be healed?” and I for one am saying yes!

Yes, to leaving my old life behind.
Yes, to walking in freedom.
Yes, to letting go of comfort.
And I even say yes to the unknown, because I know He will be right by my side!

And so I am all in! I am committed 100% to all that God asks so I can receive all He has for me. I want to be healed, wholly and completely, and all for the glory of His name. 

So my friend, do you want to be healed? Do you say yes? Are you willing to pay the price, whatever that may be?