“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
Why did Jesus ask that question? Wouldn’t that be obvious?
Well, not really, when you think about it. Because many of us say that we want to become well, we ask
others to ‘pray for us” and we have a long story of issues/problems that we
feel come against us. But when others ask us to go to church, or give us steps
to take to get out of the situations that we are in, we make every excuse that
we can…’Well my car won’t work’, ‘I’m too tired to get up and pray.’ ‘I can’t
afford to go where God said.’ Etc. The man in the story gave an excuse first
thing: I can’t get down the steps, and
when I try…others get in my way.” Jesus
didn’t listen to the excuse, instead He simply asked: “Do you really WANT to get well?”
Sometimes, as strange as it sounds, we really DON’T want to
get well from the things that plague us. We say we want to get out of
a relationship or a situation, and that we are ‘sick and tired’ of certain
things, but when someone gives us the solution, which usually involves changing
the way we do something, we don’t want to do it. That shows that we really are
not so willing to get the healing and deliverance God has for us. I can pray
for you all day, but if you are not
willing to receive it, and do those things in the natural that are needed in
order to obtain the healing, it won’t work anyway. I can’t pray for you more
than you are willing to pray for yourself.
Do you want to get
well physically?
An aunt of mine is always ill. She talks about her various
illnesses all day long: High blood pressure, heart issues, asthma circulation
problems, and diabetes, she details her surgeries to all who will listen, says
her body is failing her, and shows everyone her endless supply of medications.
At the same time, she smokes several packs of cigarettes a day, and eats junk
food and candy constantly. She also holds in a lot of anger and unforgiveness
internally. When I gave her a book of
healing that spoke about fasting for 30 days, and cleaning out the body to
prepare for healing, she actually called me back upset, and said that was ‘too much work’ and she wanted something
quicker. She had been putting toxic things in her body for over 30 years, but
didn’t want to take 30 days in order
to clean it out. Yet, she almost seems to take pride in showing us her x-rays,
test results, and running down her lists of medications, while asking others to
keep her in prayer.
Do you really want to get well emotionally?
When people come to me to talk about their sicknesses,
relationship problems, kids, etc., instead of listening to issues, and allowing
those things to weigh down my spirit, I now just ask them: “Do you want change?
Do you really want to be free?” Because unless you do, nothing I say is going
to make a difference anyway, and I don’t want to waste my breath and words on
someone who enjoys throwing a one-man ‘Pity Party’; and wants to invite
everyone around them. That’s one party that I don’t want to attend any more. I
have given relationship advice to people who say they are being done wrong, and
tell their story of suffering at the hands of another, but they don’t take the
advice, and eventually will resent me for even telling them to get out. They
instead would rather go from person to person complaining about the state of
the relationship, but really don’t desire to leave it, just want instant change
instead.
Do you really want to get well mentally?
People sometimes want to
wallow in hurt, grief, and anger. It’s like a comfortable old blanket that they
wrap themselves in. They want to stay in misery, bitterness, unforgiveness,
because it’s easier for them and they get more sympathy that way. Sometimes the
sickness that is suffered goes beyond physical, its mental, and begins in your
soul.
But you always have a choice: you can be ‘Pitiful’ or you
can be ‘Powerful’.
There is a documented disorder called Munchausen by proxy syndrome in
which caregivers/parents purposely cause illness to their children, whether it
be by suffocation, medications, poisoning, etc. in order to get sympathy and
attention at the hospital. They enjoy the drama and attention that these
illnesses bring with them, as well as the sympathy from the hospital staff. These women have serious psychological issues.
They beg the doctor to help their child, yet they know all along they are causing the illness. They want to have
others give them prayers, encouragement, and assistance, while planning how to
get away with doing it again.
Do you really want to get well psychologically?
Usually getting better involves some sort of change. Changing your attitudes,
behaviors, and environment. Many people are afraid of change, afraid to grow,
afraid to go out of their ‘comfort zone’. They much prefer the predictability
of illness and problems, rather than the unfamiliar territory that comes with
stepping out and doing something different.
Jesus said two things to the man with the illness: Do you
want to get better? Then next, Jesus told this man to take up his mat and walk.
In other words, don’t just lay there, do
something! Put feet on your faith. Go and do what you have to do to get
well. Don’t make excuses… get up and make changes.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened to you” - Matthew 7:7
So, on this Resurrection Day, my question to you today is: Do you really want to get better? Healing deliverance, mercy,
forgiveness are all available to those who ask and seek and knock. It has
already been paid for on the cross, our burdens and yokes have been taken from
us, “It is finished!!” But we have to seek, find, and knock, in order to get it.
Most of us are not willing to do our part, and knock on that door, either
because we are afraid of what’s on the other side of it, or we simply want someone else to open that door for us.
So many people over the years told us that they wanted to
work with us in business…when we already had money coming in. They complained
about their financial situations, but anytime we gave them a tip or advice, it
was always brushed off. When it came to laying the groundwork to start a
business, everyone disappeared. They wanted us to go ahead and open the doors, and then walk through them with us. It’s too much work to go up to
those doors and knock on their own.
Ask=it shall be given
Seek=you will findKnock=it will be opened.
Do you really want to get well spiritually?
I get up at 6 am to pray, and people tell me their prayer
requests, but make excuses of why they can’t get up that early. They want to
pray when it’s convenient for them. Do
you really want it? Faith without work is dead. I
can intercede for you, but I can’t and won’t pray for you more than you are
willing to pray for yourself. You won’t even take the time to seek God more
than you seek other things, yet want supernatural results in your life?
Get rid of the excuses, said Jesus, and get up, get out and
DO something to make it happen.
What doors do you need opened in your own life? Ask
yourself: Are you willing to do whatever
it takes to open those doors, in the natural and the spiritual, or do you
really just want a “Pity Party’? Do you really want to get well? Or are you
worried about what others may think about you if you change? Are you ready to take on the responsibility
involved in what’s behind the doors? Or have you found a certain comfort in
procrastination, and familiarity in chaos? The bottom line is, if you really
want to do something, you will sacrifice the time, commitment and effort involved
in order to make it happen in your life.
Again: you can be ‘Pitiful’, or you can be ‘Powerful’...but
if you really want to get better, you
will choose wisely!
Do YOU really want to get well? The choice is YOURS!!
HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!!
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