Do You Want to Be Made Well?
Do you want to get well?
John 5:6, Message
When I visited Israel, one of the places I lingered the longest was the Pool of Bethesda. I sat quietly on the worn stone steps, re-reading the story aloud as I imagined the scene: the heat of the day, the murmur of the crowd, bodies lying in wait around the waters, hope rising and falling with each breath.
A man had been lying there for thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years of watching others step ahead of him. Thirty-eight years of yearning, while disappointment after disappointment hardened him into mindless routine.
Jesus approached the man and asked a startling question: “Do you want to get well?”
No, duh? Of course he does. Why else would he be there?
The man doesn’t say yes. Instead, he tells his story: “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. Someone else always gets there before me.”
Some people hear excuses in his words. I hear exhaustion. I hear the voice of someone who has tried, failed, and tried again until hope slowly drained away. I hear the monotone of someone who has experienced enough disappointment that he stopped scanning the horizon for possibilities. He has settled into survival mode.
When hope fades, options disappear. But this man’s best option stood right in front of him. Jesus didn’t analyze the situation. He gave a command:
“Get up. Take your bedroll. Start walking.”
Healing required participation. The man had to move. He had to trust. He could stay where he was. Or he could step into a completely different life.
I think about this story when I see the work of Our Calling in downtown Dallas. When their Search and Rescue teams meet people living on the streets, they ask two simple questions:
“Will you trust the Lord?”
“Can we help you off the streets?”
Those questions aren’t just about finding shelter. They’re about transformation. Because getting well — truly well — is rarely simple.
Physical healing may require therapy and persistence.
Mental or Emotional healing may require counseling and honesty.
Relational healing may require forgiveness and humility.
Spiritual healing always requires surrender.
The crippled man didn’t just receive new legs. He received a new life. Walking meant responsibility. Work. Relationships. Questions. Expectations. A future he hadn’t planned for.
The road from floundering to flourishing is a process. It’s long and often winding. Yet it always starts first with willingness to change, to be renewed. To let Jesus transform our “aching signs and wordless groans” (Romans 8:28-29) into something good.
Jesus still asks the same question to us today: Do you want to get well?
The deeper question for the coming Lenten season is the extent to which we will rise and follow Him, the extent to which we will allow – not fight or resist – His healing work within us.
Reflect: Where in your life do you yearn to get well? Over the coming weeks of Lent, to what extent will you go and allow Christ’s transformative, healing work within you?
Pray: Lord Jesus, You see the places where I’ve grown tired, discouraged, and settled for less than the life You offer. Give me courage to trust You. Help me release my excuses, rise in faith, and walk in the healing only You provide. Strengthen me for the new life You are calling me to live. In Your name I pray, Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria Ashby
Lay Leader