Verse: John 5:6

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

Devotion
Jesus approached this man who was lying beside the pool named Bethesda. He had been unable to walk for 38 years. He was lying there because they believed when the waters stirred, the first one in got healed.

It would seem like a weird question then, wouldn’t it, for Jesus to ask,  “Do you want to get well?”

When I read this story, though, it speaks to me every time. I feel Jesus asking me, “Do you want to get well?” It’s actually a legit question. Do I really want to get well? I start to think about what it means to “be well” in the Spirit.

Do I want to be free of my secret sins? Do I want my desires to be submitted to God’s will? Do I want my time and energy to be for God’s plans first before mine? Do I want to care less about myself than I do others? Do I want to not watch things that are bad for me, do things that are bad for me, etc etc.

Do I really want to be well? Truly well? “Well” in the sense of being whole in Jesus. Am I willing to let him lead my life, and place all of my desires under his will?

It’s actually a big decision. Sometimes I find myself wanting the benefits of following Jesus without the sacrifice. But in the end that’s actually not good for me. All the stuff I think is a sacrifice is actually my sickness. I think it’s a sacrifice to not do what I want, but really selfishness is part of my human sickness. And if I really want to be well, I will come to a place of realizing that letting go of my sickness, and letting Jesus truly heal me, is the best life I can ever find.

Prayer
Jesus I give you my life wholeheartedly. I do not hold anything back. I want to be well!

Author: Christian Dunn