Pursuing the Life You Desire

“Do you want to get well?” It must have been an awkward question to hear Jesus ask the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (see John 5). After all, this man had been paralyzed for thirty eight long years. Who would want to stay in such a miserable condition?

Yet Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” The man explains why he isn't well. No one will help him into the pool. He is unable to overcome the obstacles of his circumstance. He is a victim of an unfortunate situation.

Surely he wanted to be well - after all, he had been waiting at the pool where the stirring waters could heal him. Yet, Jesus asks him all the same. Perhaps Jesus saw beyond what was presented. Did this man truly want a different life?

And so it is with us! We say we want a life that is somehow better than the one we are currently experiencing. We want a stronger relationship with God. We long for greater intimacy in relationships. We want a better career, more opportunities. We desire to have a greater impact on our children. We hope to make positive contributions to the world around us – and so on.

There are many situations we wish were different. Yet while we long for our circumstances to be changed, we refuse to deal with the one constant in all of them – ourselves. Just like the paralytic at the pool, as long as our solutions remain outside our control, we have plenty of reasons to settle for life as we know it while maintaining the pretense that we want something better.

For the paralytic to suddenly become well, he would have to be willing to face a whole new way of life. He would no longer be known as a helpless man. He would enter a world of new responsibilities. Even his relationships with others would be radically changed.

Likewise, if we hunger for the abundant life Christ promised, we’d better be willing to deal with the mindsets that keep us from becoming emotionally healthy and spiritually mature. We better plan to “work” at changing some behaviors that keep us in bondage. We’re going to need courage to confront our self-imposed limitations and excuses. There is a cost to be paid. It is here that many disciples turn back and settle for a life far below God’s intended plan. It is here that YOU must answer “do I want to be well?”  

So where are you on the journey to wellness and abundant living? Do you have a plan to create a different future? Or, are you wandering aimlessly through life simply “hoping” a magic genie will appear and make things better?