Here is a wonderful post and a pertinent question that I personally must ask myself: Do I really want to be healed? do I really want change in my life? do I really want out of this rut, this prison that I am in? Yes these are questions I must ask myself, and be honest with myself in. Do I really want out of my comfort zone even it it is killing me?
Wow , it is really high time I confront these issues in my life and really find out what I really want to happen in my life. It is funny, or maybe sad, that we are willing to stay where we are because it is so much harder not to. We must own up to our real situation here. I must take full responsiblity for my healing, and that healing can really only come when I hand it and all of it over to God.
God help me to see the true answer in my disabilities, and in my sickness, and the reasons for them. Help me to take up my bed and walk in your Salvation of my spirit soul and my body.Lord help me to see the error of my ways and to come to terms with the truth of them. Lord you know who I am, even when I fail or chose not to see who I really am. Lord please help me to get out of my comfort zone, and rely totally in your will for my life. Thank you Yah ' shua, Jesus , thank you Holy Spirit for revealing the true nature of my rut and comfort zone.
John 5:1-8 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, “Would you like to get well?” (v.6).
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He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds (Psalm 147:3).
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How would you answer Jesus’ question: “Would you like to get well?” Is there something you’re not willing to give up in order to get well?
Jesus once met a man who had been handicapped for 38 years. After spotting him lying near a pool in Jerusalem, Jesus asked him, “Would you like to get well?” (John 5:6).
At first, that sounds like a strange question. Of course the guy wanted to get well. He’d been handicapped for decades! In asking the question, however, Jesus acknowledged that sometimes people seem more inclined to remain in a crippled and broken state than to be healed.
Ironically, for some, the journey to restoration from personal brokenness seems too scary. Even though the wounds of life have crippled and imprisoned them, it’s what they have gotten used to.
Anyone can get so accustomed to living in a state of brokenness that they’re too afraid to leave it. It’s called becoming institutionalized. This term is used to describe the state of a prisoner who flounders at trying to live in “the real world” once he’s been freed from jail or paroled. Struggling with life outside the prison walls, some ex-cons will commit a crime in order to get sent back to the way of life they know and desire to experience again.
This frame of mind is similar to the one the Israelites slipped into shortly after God miraculously freed them from the bondage of Egypt. A life of slavery was the only life these people knew. And just a few days into their freedom, when the journey became difficult, they wanted to go back (Exodus 16:1-3). Following God into the wilderness toward the Promised Land might have felt too risky. They weren’t ready to “get well.”
God is in the business of restoration, but we need to know that the journey isn’t easy. It sometimes requires leaving behind what’s familiar and heading into new directions (John 5:8).
Here is a response to this devotion that I thought was well said:
BobbiLee says:
March 25, 2009 at 1:53 am
Both in the physical realm and the spiritual one, there are many lessons in this passage for us today as you have pointed out. We do like our “comfort zone.” Wellness requires responsibility and we don’t like to take that on. Instead, like the crippled man in this account, many people would rather take the easier, familiar path. Being dependent on others for our needs and being “spoon-fed” sure is a lot easier than taking responsibility for either physical or spiritual healing.
Some years ago I suffered a serious illness and almost died. It took the doctors eight months to come up with a diagnosis. During that time I depended entirely on the doctors for my healing and was confined to a chair all day and every day. After many months of sickness and pain, I finally realized that I had to allow God into my illness. I also had to take the first step if I ever wanted to get well and strong again.
So. . . one day, as difficult and painful as it was, I took a step, then two, then three. Daily I would take a few more steps than the day before. I stayed in the Word and God spoke to me there. I learned more of God during that time than in all my life before. You are right, the journey isn’t easy. Even in my spiritual life I can take a few steps, then more and more until I am truly walking with the Lord daily. This also takes time, effort and responsibility, but He is worthy and He is worth it.
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