Get Up And Walk

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’” – John 5:8

In John 5, a paralyzed man sat at a healing pool for 38 years. Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast of the Jews, and he decided to visit this pool, where the diseased and disabled frequented. Jesus, on the Sabbath, chose a man amongst the multitude. He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
 
Why did he ask this question? Because no change was going to be made until the man first acknowledged that he needed it; and that same question applies to us. Each time we choose to give into temptation, we are saying “No, I do not want to get well.” After Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well, he acknowledged that he didn’t have the help he desired. Jesus cured him and he was able to walk. The cure was not just for himself. The cure was also so that the man could tell others how he was healed.  

God wants you to start fresh, and every day is a new opportunity to do so. To start fresh, you must first acknowledge that you cannot do it on your own. Once you acknowledge this, and become receptive to God, He can move in your life.
 
And when you receive that healing, you will have a testimony to share with others. Like the paralyzed man, you will be able to share with others that you didn’t make it on your strength alone, but that you serve and Almighty God who brought you out of the dark into the light.  

This process may not happen overnight. Often, God builds patience in us through the waiting period. No matter how long the wait, commit to submitting to the Lord’s will; and when the wait is over, you will be glad you answered, “Yes I want to made well.”