Josh’s Thoughts

Ok, so I should be working on a couple of papers for school right now, but I feel like blogging instead. Before I get going, though, I should mention why I haven’t written any blogs in several weeks. The reason is not that I’ve given up on blogging, or that I’ve been too busy, or anything like that. No, it’s just that I’ve been going through one of those “learning phases” that God occasionally puts us through. I’ve had a lot on my mind, and my thoughts have been really scattered. So this blog isn’t dead, or anything like that, I just needed some time to work through some things and get my thoughts back on track.

Oh yeah, and I upgraded my computer to the new Vista operating system (which took several days), and I worked 80 hours in 6 days, so that had something to do with it too

Now that all of that’s cleared up I’m going to go ahead and share what’s on my mind tonight.

During the last few weeks I’ve been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” by the Christian band Delirious?. (No, that’s not a typo, their name ends with a question mark.) The song “Miracle Maker” is based on one of the miracles that Jesus performed. The miracle is recorded by John, and I’ll quote the text, and then write a little bit about it.

John 5:2-3; 5-9 ESV
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids–blind, lame, and paralyzed.
…
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

There are a lot of things that I really like about this story. On the surface it looks so simple, but there is a lot of depth to it. I’m not going to go into every reason that I like this miracle, but I will make a few points.

The first thing that I like about this miracle is the fact that the man Jesus healed had been “an invalid for thirty-eight years.” Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I put a lot of stock in hope. If a person has hope then they can make it through anything, no matter how rough it might be. When I read this miracle I can’t help but wonder, “How many times did the man that Jesus healed almost give up hope?” We don’t know the answer to that question, but we do know that after thirty-eight years he was still hoping for a miracle.

Another thing we know is that he wanted to be healed. I find it fascinating that Jesus walks up and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” At first glance that seems like a really, really dumb question! The guy’s been an invalid for thirty-eight years! Of course he wants to be healed!

Or does he?

Notice that there’s no record of Jesus healing anyone else there that day, even though the Bible says that there was a “multitude of invalids” there. I don’t want to speculate too much, but I find it hard to believe that this was the only invalid that Jesus was willing to heal. Did Jesus ask others if they wanted to be healed, and they said no? Did they laugh Him off, or shrug off the question? Did they make a joke out of it? Who knows?!

What we do know is that change is uncomfortable. It’s a step into the unknown. Sometimes it seems better to stay in a miserable situation, if stepping out of that miserable situation could cause us even greater misery! Put another way, it might be easier to give up hope than to say, “Yes, Jesus, I want to be healed,” knowing (from the invalid’s point of view) that Jesus might not do it. Sometimes it’s easier to just bury hope and give up.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and I don’t care to go back.

Another possible reason that an invalid might not want to be healed is because it would bring about a complete change of life for them. After all, if you’re an invalid, then someone has to take care of you. The Jewish Law required that people give you “alms.” Being an invalid is certainly a horrible life, but what if you’re healed? What happens to you then? Then there’s all the worries and fears about finding a profession, making a living, etc.

The reason that I say all of this is because we don’t know about all of the other invalids that were there that day, but we do know that there was this one–a guy who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years–who refused to give up hope. He waited patiently by a pool, hoping that an angel would stir up the waters of the pool so that he could be healed. In addition to all of that, the legend said that only one person could be healed, and this invalid was hoping against hope that somehow he could be the first one in the pool when the angel stirred the waters! Talk about hope!

So, to recap, one of the reasons that I like this miracle is because the guy who was healed refused to give up hope. Even after thirty-eight years he was still hoping against hope that something would change.

Then one day Jesus walked by.

That’s worth stopping and thinking about.

Another thing that I love about this miracle is the way that Jesus healed the invalid. Look carefully at these Scriptures again, and notice what Jesus did not say:

John 5:6-9 ESV
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

What Jesus did not do was heal the guy of whatever problem afflicted him.

Think about that for a moment, because it’s such a powerful point.

We don’t know what caused this guy to be an invalid, but we do know that it probably was not something that afflicted him from birth. The Bible doesn’t say that he was an invalid from birth, it says that he was an invalid for thirty-eight years. This implies that at one point the guy was not an invalid.

So what happened to cause him to become crippled? The Bible doesn’t say. Was he a roof maker who fell and broke his neck? Was he a child who was dropped by his parents and suffered damage to his spine? Was he beaten and abused when he was young? We don’t know. We don’t know if it was spinal injury or injury to his legs that caused him to be unable to walk. It could have even been other things.

So I find it fascinating that Jesus didn’t heal the guy of whatever caused his problem in the first place. He just commanded him to get up, pick up his bedding, and walk. As soon as Jesus commanded the man to do these three things, this is what happened:

1. The man was healed of whatever caused him to be an invalid.
2. The man’s legs received strength. The muscles must have been atrophied after thirty-eight years.
3. If the man’s upper body was paralyzed then he received strength there as well, so that he was able to pick up his bedding.
4. Any lost motor skills were regained.

But did Jesus command all of this to happen? No! He just commanded the guy to get up and walk. As soon as Jesus gave the command, reality changed to make the command happen!

Let me say that again: Reality warped itself around the words of Jesus.

Now you might think that’s really cool (like I do), or you might think I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Here’s my point, though: Jesus completely changed reality, and He did it immediately. There were no fireworks going off in the sky; Jesus didn’t have the disciples hold the guy up so that He could blow on him and knock him down again (like certain faith healers like to do). Jesus didn’t even do anything really cool, like make a spit ball out of mud or walk on the waters of the pool, or anything like that. As a matter of fact, Jesus didn’t even touch the guy who was lame!

One moment the sun is shining, then Jesus spoke…and the sun was still shining.

One moment the wind was blowing through the trees, then Jesus spoke…and the wind was still blowing through the trees.

One moment a bird was singing and people were walking around and talking, then Jesus spoke…and a bird was still singing and people were still walking around and talking.

Thunder didn’t roar, lightning didn’t fall from the sky.

But, in one moment, everything changed for the man who was lame. Jesus spoke one sentence, and in doing so He changed a person’s life forever.

A lame man was given the ability to walk, and the Life-bringer brought hope.

The reason that I say all of that is to say this: Jesus never seems to do things in the way that we would expect Him to do it.

If I were God in the flesh, then I would be tempted to at least put on a good fireworks display and let everyone know that I had just healed this guy. That would have been cool. Or I might have let everyone know just how bad this guy’s injury was, and just how complicated a problem it was medically, so that they would all know how powerful I was when I healed him.

But Jesus didn’t do anything of that. He just asked the guy if He wanted to be healed, the guy said yes, and Jesus changed reality to make it happen.

Thirty-eight years of waiting…thirty-eight years of never giving up hope…and then Jesus showed up.

So let me ask you: What is it that you are hoping for? What is it that you need changed in your life? I’m not talking about getting a six-figure salary, or anything like that (if that’s your priority then you’ve got your priorities in the wrong place). But what is it that you need from God?

Is it peace? Hope? Deliverance? Faith? Belief?

Whatever it is, Jesus still walks by today and He asks the question, “Do you want to be healed?” That puts the ball in our court.

Change is never comfortable. A lot of times it puts us in really difficult, uncomfortable situations. (As a matter of fact, if you read the rest of John 5 then you see that the guy Jesus healed got in trouble for carrying his bed around on the Sabbath.)

Not only is change uncomfortable, but sometimes we don’t really want to get what we’re asking for. I’m reminded of the words of St. Augustine’s famous prayer for chastity: “Oh Lord, make me chaste, but please don’t do it just yet” [1]. When St. Augustine wrote that he was recounting his earlier life, before he fully converted to Christianity, and it is quite humorous. How many times do we do the same thing, though? How many times do we pray for things that we don’t really want? How many times do we pray for the strength to “take up our cross,” all the while praying that God will never answer our prayer? After all, taking up our cross is just so darn hard sometimes!!

Anyway, I had all of this on my mind tonight, and I don’t really know why. I wasn’t planning on writing this blog until 1 hour and 8 minutes ago when I started

Maybe it’ll speak to someone, though.

Let me summarize everything:

• Our God is a God of hope. Even if you’ve been waiting for something for a long, long time, don’t give up hope. Stay focused on God, keep delighting in Him, and remain faithful (Ps. 37:4-5). Remember that He always desires the best for His children. He “causes all things to work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).
• God never does things the way that we expect Him to do it. I think He just likes to amaze us. He’s such a show-off! Being all powerful must be really fun. (Personally, I’d have a blast if I was all powerful…it would totally rock…I can think of all kinds of stuff I’d like to do.)
• Be willing to embrace change, even if it’s uncomfortable. Be willing to face the unknown. When hope comes your way, be willing to embrace the opportunity. God will never forsake you (Ps. 37:25), and He always wants what is best for His children (Mat. 7:11).

Finally, I said at the start of this blog that I have been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” a lot lately. I am going to conclude this post by quoting the lyrics of the song. You can also go to www.napster.com and listen to the song on-line for free if you’d like to. Just follow their instructions for creating a free account.

As you read the lyrics, or listen to the song, imagine yourself in the place of the invalid; lying on the ground for thirty-eight years, waiting for something to change. That’s where this song starts off, and it’s just so powerful. I can’t get enough of it!

Miracle Maker

I’m waiting here for my life to change,
When the waters stir you can rearrange me.
Just one touch is all I need,
I’ve nothing much but the wounds I feel,
I’m looking for the hand of the miracle man.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy, Saviour, Healer,
I’m standing at the feet of the miracle maker.

I’m holding on, with your life in mine,
Living water’s come,
And you’ve rearranged me.

Holy you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy,
Saviour, healer,
I’m staring in the face of the miracle maker.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Jesus, precious Jesus,
Thank you, Saviour,
I’m walking in the shoes of my miracle maker.
I’m standing with the faith of a miracle maker.

Written by Delirious? ©2005 Curious? Music UK

http://www.delirious.org.uk/lyrics/songs/miraclemaker.html