John 5:3-11
A Foundation in Faith
3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When 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?"
7"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."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
John 16:33
Troubles Come in this World
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Luke 6:46-49
A Strong Foundation
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
When I first read this story years ago, of the invalid of thirty eight years, I was surprised Jesus ask him if "He wanted to get well?"...But Jesus does not ask frivolous questions...There have been millions of past and present readers who have read this passage, and said -everyone (or so it seems) wants to be well...There no doubt have been people who were ill and sick that have read these passages, and have said to themselves, of course, I want to get well...But Jesus wants us to think about what He says, and study His word...He was the Twelve's Great Teacher and He is our Great Teacher...
There were many disabled people waiting for the angel to stir the water, and the first one in the pool would be healed...This particular disabled individual needed assistance to even get up, let alone be first to the pool...The one sick knew he could not be first into the water without help from someone...Little did the lame one know the Greatest Healer ever to walk the earth was standing right beside Him...He did not even need the angel's stirred water to be healed, he had now met Jesus...The One who can heal us...
We see doctors, talk to friends, and psychiatrists in trying to feel better...The are some who are sick, and worry a lot, have anxieties, anxiety disorders, and other illnesses...Often times, like the lame one, we need assistance to get better and get well...We see the doctor, because we want to get well...People need a strong foundation in their lives...Some sicknesses, like those with worry, anxiety disorders, and some of the other types of illnesses need this strong foundation in their lives...When a storm comes along in their lives they need Jesus...An attitude of hope can mean everything in the healing process of any illness...A strong faith can mean the difference in getting well, and not getting well in any sickness...Those who are ill sometimes can get through the sunny days and light winds, but when the floods come into our lives, and the hard waters and winds crash against us we need this strong foundation...
Jesus even tells us in this world you will have troubles...But He has overcome this world...Do you want to get well, to me, means we need to start our foundation and priorities with Jesus...The moment the troubles come in our lives (and they will come) and strike us and our homes, our home -nor will we collapse, because He is there...We have constructed our foundation on the love, strength, and truth of Jesus...This takes a foundation of faith in Him, the One who wants us to get and be well...