Your Daily Dose
Theme: Stirring of the Pool Bethesda
Scripture : John 5:2-9
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the
Hebrew tongue Bethesda. Having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of
impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an
angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water;
whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole
of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an
infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had
been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled,
to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man
was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked!
Points To Ponder
There are some things in your life that you think “I guess I just have to live with
this”… After all, it’s been 38 years… you kind of ARE living with it. Consider the
man in this story. He had to have someone drop him off at the pool every day,
placing him close enough to get in IF the angel appeared and stirred the water.
Can you imagine the family members talking? “Hey, you’re going to have to drop
Grandpa off at the pool today. I have to get to the market early!” Someone had to
do it…every day!
But when Jesus saw the man…look at the question He asked? He didn’t ask “do
you want to be healed?” Nope… Healing is a much easier thing… Jesus asked
“do you want to be whole?”
Whole? Just what does that mean?
Let me give you an example. I am an insurance agent by trade. I educate and
advise people on insurance matters all day long. I teach them a term called
Indemnity. Big word—but what does it mean?
Indemnity means to return someone to the way they were 1 minute before you
touched them?
In insurance, it means placing them back in the condition they were before you
hit them!
If you can apply this analogy to what Jesus said…
Healing is me fixing their car, but…
Whole? That’s me taking you back to the moment BEFORE I ever hit you!
Now—that’s the true miracle!
And so… how about you?
Do you want to be healed?
Or…do you want to be whole?
Whole will revive the “you” that you once were BEFORE life happened!
Being whole is an opportunity to still see life in its purest form—without filters
and pain.
If you notice—the man still got up and walked for the first time in 38 years!
So…he was whole AND healed!
That’s the ticket!
Let’s Pray Together
Lord God…I hear you ask me “do you want to be whole?” and I want you to
“indemnify” my life as only you can do. Take me back to that place in my life
when I saw life as beautiful and full of possibilities. Heal me of the thoughts that
make me doubt that life can be good again. Take away my cynical thoughts that
make me expect the worst in everyone. I want to see life in its beauty as you
made it.
Make me whole again—I trust you to do that for me.
Amen