My journey to sexual purity. X

Dare to obey

The Bible is one of those books I simply can't get tired of. One of my favorite things about the Bible is the way it consistently cuts to your heart in an unique and unprecedented way- despite how many times you've read a it.

I recently had this experience with John 5- specifically the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man at the pool (verses 1-9).

I originally tried to summarize the passage, but I quickly realized there was no use. Not only are my words no match for His, there's also simply no need to create a watered-down version of His Word when we have access to the real deal.

Here's a little background knowledge to facilitate your understanding of the passage:

The pool of water that this passage refers to was believed to have healing powers as a result of angels literally stirring the water. With this in mind, you better believe that sick people were gathered and camped out around this pool- ready to jump in the second any stirring was detected.

Alright, now without further ado- here's the passage itself :D

5  Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

There are a million things happening in this passage, so let's unpack it a little :)  One of the things that really cuts deep is the intentionality of Jesus in this story. People genuinely believe this water will bring healing- therefore there are quite a few people huddling around the water. However, Jesus singles out this one man, and goes out of His way to speak with him.

Jesus saw him, knew the man had been struggling for a long time (38 YEARS), and asked "Do you want to be healed?". Notice that Jesus doesn't judge or chastise the man for how long he's "allowed" the problem to persist. Jesus saw his brokenness, and His first response is to help the man get better.

Regardless, the man explains himself, and in response Jesus asks the man to do the "impossible"- to get up and pick up his mat. The paralyzed man dares to believe, and sure enough he is able to pick up his mat and walk.

Within moments, Jesus was able to do what this man attempted for 38 years.

Friends,

Jesus is not angry with you. He loves you unconditionally. He's not concerned with how you got there or how long you've been there. All of that is irrelevant to Him in the grand scheme of things. He sees you hurting, and as a result wants to heal you- period.

We cannot do anything in our own strength. I read all the books and tried all of the programs, but nothing changed until I let Jesus in. Trying to overcome this addiction will result in nothing but anger, frustration, and wasted time.

The man was paralyzed for 38 years- I'm sure he nearly forgot what walking even felt like. With this in mind, I'm sure nothing sounded crazier than Jesus telling him to pick up his mat and walk.

Maybe that's what the concept of freedom feels like to you- foreign, out of reach, and next to impossible, but let me tell you, those feelings are straight up lies from the enemy.

Despite how outlandish Jesus' request seemed, the man obeyed, and the Lord healed him.

Just like that.

It doesn't matter how you feel. When feelings and truth contradict, truth always wins. You cannot always follow your heart, as it will sometimes lead you astray (peep Jeremiah 17:9).

Jesus died to and overcame our sin through His death and resurrection. When we make Christ our Lord and Savior we become one with Him, and share in His death and resurrection to all sin- including addiction.

Despite how imprisoned you feel, and how foreign and far-fetched freedom appears, freedom IS within reach. Freedom is right in front of you, and Jesus is calling you to it.

Lay your feelings aside, boldly obey (peep Galatians 5:13), rest in the faithfulness of The Almighty and the certainty of His Word, and then just watch His freedom manifest and triumph over addictions that once held you captive.

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." – Galatians 5:13

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." – 2 Corinthians 3:17

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" – 1 Corinthians 3:16

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." – Galatians 5:22-23