Have you ever felt you needed help to get out of what or where you are but there is no one to help you? Unfortunately, when you look around you, you are surrounded by people that are just watching you yet offering no help. It is as if they enjoy seeing you in this terrible condition! They offer palliatives that only make you more painfully aware of your condition. How miserable would one feel, with so much water yet none to drink? That was the situation the invalid in John 5:1-15 found himself. He had an infirmity for thirty-eight long years with no help in sight. He was lying by a pool with other invalids surrounded by able bodied men – elders and Levites - yet no one to assist him into the pool to get healed. The Bible says the pool was by the Sheep gate; this is very significant because the Lord had come for the lost and hurting sheep to bring them back to Himself. At a point, the Lord had so much compassion on the people when He saw how harassed and distressed they were, that He likened them to sheep without shepherd. The Bible says, seeing that the man had been in that condition for a long time, He asked him if he wanted to be made well. For you to come across this write-up today, I believe you have an appointment with God: He will do what no man can do in your life. That which you have been dragging around for so long with no one to help despite the fact that you are surrounded by ‘caring’ people, the Lord had seen and is ready to do something about it. The man was asked a direct question that needed a direct answer but he tried to explain his predicament away. What the Lord meant by that question and He is asking you too, is, ‘are you ready to get out of the condition you found yourself in; are you sick of it?’ It might be sin, terrible attitude, an ailment, unsuccessful ventures, lost job and inability to get a job or promotion, barrenness, failed relationships, whatever it may be. He is asking: ‘are you sick of it and ready to be healed of it?’ The Lord knows your condition and how long you have been in it; He is not interested in who should or could have helped you but didn’t. He has come to you today not because of what you had done or if you deserve it or not! If it is a curse (you were told), Praise God because He (Christ) became a curse for you so you could be free from it and line you up for the blessing of Abraham. It is not your will neither is it the will of the Father for you to be in that condition! The Lord is speaking directly to that situation to cease in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!!! He has released His Word believe it and walk in it. Just as He told the man to pick up his mat and walk, He is equally telling you to pack up the bitterness, fear, hopelessness and despair and move. I can hear you say it is difficult, friend it is not. Release yourself to Him and He will make it easy for you. You are indeed destined for greatness in His Presence!!!
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
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