In the Bible where the guy had been laying by the pool waiting to get well for 38yrs Jesus asked him if he really wanted to get well. I think there is a great message to take from that. He had been laying right beside the pool of water that could heal him for 38yrs but he said that everytime the water bubbled for healing that someone always got in front of him. You would think that he would have wiggled or even bit some ankles along the way to make sure he fell into the healing water but he just laid there.

How many times have you had something bad happen and it became the reason (or excuse) that you used to justify your own bad actions? Or have you faced a traumatic event that has caused you to a ton of hurt and it has affected your entire life? Sometimes we can’t do anything about what has happened to us but we can always do something about how we choose to let it affect our future. It may not be easy but we can heal from our past pains.

Jesus ended up telling the man to, “get up! Pick up your mat and go.” I think the exclamation mark speaks volumes. I think that Jesus was saying to stop having reasons or excuses as to why you haven’t been healed and do something about it. Take a stand for yourself and your life. Refuse to spend another day crippled in your pain. It may not be fair or right what somebody has done to you but don’t allow them to keep hurting you by holding onto the pain and letting it have a negative effect on your life.

When we are ready to move past the point of our pain Jesus will be right there ready to coach us on. He will be there to guide us back onto our feet and to the road of healing. It may not be easy and it may even hurt a little more to face the full emotional impact that the situation or person had on you but there is great healing that comes afterwards. Decide today that you will not lay in your pain for 38yrs. Get up and walk through it so that you can be healed.