Get Up, Take Your Bed

You probably saw this title and seriously thought...hmmmmm what could this be about?

I will make it short and sweet for you!

In John chapter 5, there is a healing done at a pool on the Sabbath. In Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesada, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids - blind, lame and paralyzed. There was a man who had been invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus was at this pool, He saw the man laying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The man told Jesus that he has no-one to put him into the pool when the water is stirred up, and whenever he tries to go, another person steps before him. Jesus then said to to the man, "Get up, take your bed, and walk." At once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Take that in for a second. A man was stuck at this pool for thirty-eight years because he had no-one to get him into the pool and he couldn't even make it to the pool himself. Thirty-eight years! That is such a long time! Think about how impatient we are with things. When we are hopeless and want to give up on something, we find any alternative we can to just get through what we have to. We would rather do anything than continue to suffer and feel like we are failing. This man was crippled and never gave up hope. The man also never had anybody notice him in all of those years. Not one person helped him into the pool. You know who did notice him? Jesus did! Jesus noticed the man sitting there and just asked a simple question. Think about people you seen in your daily lives who seem down and in the dumps, ask them a question some time! That question might change their lives. Jesus asked the man a question, and Jesus healed him because he took up his bed and walked when Jesus told him to.

There are a couple of things I hope we can all take away from this.

1. Never ever give up. For thirty-eight years, this crippled man sat at the pool. He never gave up hope. No matter how long it seems like we have to wait for something, we must persevere. Your life could change!

2. Next, don't be afraid to ask somebody a simple question. Try to pay attention to someone who looks like they need a friend. Jesus noticed this man laying there, asked him a question and his live changed.

Never give up, and ask questions! With those two things you have the power to change life!