Do you want to get well?

In continuing my reading in John, I found another verse that really stuck out to me.  Jesus is in Jerusalem and He walks past a pool of water where many disabled people used to sit in hopes of being healed by the waters when they are "stirred."  In this encounter Jesus meets a man who had been invalid for 38 years and asks what might seem like a silly question.  In John 5:6, Jesus asks the man, "Do you want to get well?"  I mean, really Jesus?  This man hasn't been able to provide for himself, sits in the city and begs, and now is waiting by some water every day waiting for the possibility of healing (we won't get into the fact that this man didn't recognize healing - Jesus - when it was right in front of him).  Wouldn't the answer seem obvious?  But wait.

When I was growing up I faced some difficult situations that resulted in an inability to relate to people from an emotionally healthy vantage.  I didn't know how to open up to people, struggled with what to share with others, and even dealt with flashbacks to certain experiences I had when I was younger.  Looking back I can see that I played the part of a victim.  That's what I knew and how I responded.  Then I went to college and started going to an amazing church where they spoke about freedom and peace.  God began to do a lot in me and I realized there were things He wanted to release me from.  But first I had to answer a question.  "Do you want to get well?"  Again, the answer seems obvious.  But what if I said yes?  What would that require of me?  What would change?  Who would I be if those experiences were no longer my identity?

We often say we want healing and freedom, but inside there can be fear of the unknown.  I knew the part I played as a young girl defined by her past.  I didn't know what it looked like to be free from that.  Fear of the unknown can keep us from saying yes to healing and freedom.  Fear of what will be required of us, the new expectations, can cripple us.  Will I be any good at anything else?  Will people like the "new" me?  At the root, however, is simply fear.  We must remember that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).  It can be hard to open ourselves up to healing, but when we do, God will meet us there and we will stand amazed at the other side wondering why we didn't trust Him sooner.

So the next time you read this passage and wonder why Jesus would ask such a seemingly obvious question, ask yourself if you want to be healed or set free from something.  Really dig into it.  The answer may surprise you.  Then you get this wonderful opportunity.  You get the chance to say, "Yes!"