We have all sorts of reasons why we think we can’t change. We’ve told ourselves that we’ve always been this way. We’ve often tried to change and failed to do so. There’s no hope. No one will help us. We have become familiar with our limitations and what is necessary to just get by each day. We are so focused on problems and blaming others that we no longer take time to think about solutions that would give us hope. In fact, we’ve come to believe that it’s impossible to get well and have a good life.
Jesus met a man who had been ill for 38 years. He’d tried many times to get well but there was always some reason why it didn’t happen. Over the years he began to believe he couldn’t do what was necessary to be healed and that no one would help him. His identity as a powerless victim was rooted firmly in his heart. He believed that his situation was hopeless. Jesus knew this but also knew many other things the man did not know. Jesus asked the man a revealing question, “Would you like to get well?”
When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?" “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! (John 5:6-9 NLT)
Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen
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