Do You Want to Be Made Well?

                                                         "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk"

On my drive home Dallas this past weekend so much was going through my mind about life and the responsibilities of life. I pondered hard on the concept of being sleep while awake. LOL! I know that’s kind of an oxymoron right? Think about it though people, it’s the idea you are alive and breathing but completely unaware of what is really going on. Merely moving through the motions of everyday life, that would to me be like a sickness. Would it not be crazy to be sick with something and not know what to do to cure it? Consider beloved, The Healing at the pool of Bethesda (Jn.5). Thirty-eight years this man sat there sick (Jn.5: 5) trying to be the one of a multitude to step into the pool and be healed and thirty-eight times he had no luck with it. He was alive but sick and unable to move and because of that he had no choice but to lay on his mat with a gleam of hope that it would somehow change.

            While continuing on my drive home I realized that it was possible to be alive and functioning but rendered incapable to move due to paralyzing factor that caused one not to be able to move. I don’t mean just physically but I mean spiritually, and yes even mentally. Especially with the times we are living in the spirit of mediocrity and settling is all around us. Jobs are scarce; money is running low as the bills continue to climb higher and higher. Should that then be our reason to remain in the presence state we are in? I am not approaching this from the mindset of “get-rich-schemes” but rather it’s about the attitude we have within and towards ourselves. The inspiration of this blog came from a month long series of learning experiences. I learned so much about true work ethic, that working hard at all the wrong things literally moves you nowhere but right where you started. I also learned that an honest assessment of one’s skills is essential to positive growth. We have enough problems with paying bills, living Christ-like in a world that openly rejects Christ, and surviving that we ought to do ourselves a service and fix what we can fix. I love the way Jesus approached the man in John 5:6, he simply asked “Do you wish to get well?” That right there is the Savior making it be your choice instead of him making the choice for you. Isn’t it easier to say I tried but no one will give me a chance? If that’s true the question still is “Do you want to get well?” This question makes it be about your own accountability for your life. If you notice the man does not even answer Jesus question directly. In stead in v.7 he says, “The sick man answered Him, "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." Understandably, thirty-eight years on a mat and nothing changing will change the way you answer questions like that, but when the master comes to your door and asks do you want to get well, in spite of it all we got say YES LORD. Jesus goes on ignoring the previous statement and simply says in v.8 “Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” My people, all God wants to know are you tired? Do you want to get well? His answer is simply “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk”. It doesn’t mean I am going to be a millionaire, but it means I am creating the million-dollar idea, or starting the million-dollar company. Get this, he has given you the power to get up, but would you stay on the mat waiting for someone to push you in the pool, or under his power raise up and take those steps. I admonish everyone (myself included) forget about the fear, ignore the negativity and MOVE!!! It takes more courage to move and fail then to not move at all. You have to know that rich, poor, high, low, he if you are doing your part God will do his. Philippians 4:19 is accurate when it says “ And my God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.” I am not looking for anyone else; I am looking for God’s hand so I have to be exactly where I need to be so I can receive what he has for me, so that when he moves I won’t miss it. We shouldn’t get worse but we can always get better, so maybe the mat your laying on is depression, financial, physical, or spiritual. Regardless, of what it is position yourself in the right place so that when comes to you and ask “Do you want to get well?” You can simply say, “Yes” and he tells you to “pick up your mat and walk” and instantly you are made well, and GO! I believe this aligning yourself in God’s place designated for you will fix it for you.  Let’s individually make the decision to get better and live to tell the story of how I got over, and who the person who brought me over. Peace and Blessings unto you all.