“When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?” John 5:6 AMP
I recently had both of my pinky fingernails to split horizontally. My nail technician advised me to keep them both covered with band-aids so they would not get caught on anything while waiting for the new nail to grow. As the new nail grew, it would push the old nail so it could be cut off. So, for weeks, I bought boxes and boxes of band-aids to cover my fingernails. There were times each day during this process when I would leave them uncovered to allow them to get some air.
My nails may not have split if I had gone to my nail technician at the first sign of pain. I had allowed my nails to grow longer than I normally would and hit them accidentally. They hurt, but because the pain would come and go, I took my time going to the nail salon and in the meantime, I kept hitting them accidentally. Because they were covered, I could not see they were both broken. If I had gone when the pain first began and had the acrylic removed, they probably could have just been fixed.
Finally, the new nails pushed the old nails enough to separate them and allow them to be cut off without being painful and sore. Also, at that point, I was able to leave them uncovered. Yeah! No more band-aids! It was so amazing how quickly my nails grew once I was able to leave them uncovered.
What is my point? There are things in our lives that cannot be healed or fixed until they are dealt with or uncovered. Some can be repaired or fixed quicker than others. However, the first step after discovering what it is, is to make a decision to deal with or uncover it. We have to make a choice.
Just as Jesus asked the impotent man in John 5:6, “Do you want to get well?” I believe He’s posing that same question to us today. However, some are doing the same thing the impotent man did in John 5:7, telling him why you’re not well instead of answering the question Jesus is asking. Also, just like the impotent man in John 5, Jesus already knows why you’re not healed and how long you’ve been in this condition. All He wants to know from you is, “Do you want to get well?”
What are you covering today? Is it hurt, anger, disappointment, a financial situation, fear, unforgiveness, jealousy, a secret you’ve been carrying, unconfessed sin? Whatever it is, you can go to God and pour out your heart to him (Psalm 62:8). Then He will heal or begin to repair or fix whatever it is like only He can.
If it’s a situation where you need to go to or talk to someone else, He will let you know that too. He may send you to someone or he may send someone to you. However, the first step is to go to God and pour your heart out to him, if your answer is “yes, I want to get well”. The choice is yours.
