Eyes Off of the Pool
In John 5 we read a spectacular story. Jesus heals a man that has been sick for a long time. The interesting part isn’t necessarily the miracle. Of course it is amazing that Jesus heals this man. What is even more amazing is a simple question Jesus asks the man first.
When Jesus meets him, this man is sitting by a pool. The pool of Bethesda was a superstitious pool. The people believed that an angel came down and stirred the pool. Whomever touched the water first was healed. Either the man was took sick or lame, but either way he was never fast enough to get into the pool first. Someone else always received the “blessing” before he could.
In John 5:6, Jesus askes the man: Do you want to be healed?
When I first read that, I found it to be a little silly. Don’t you? Of course the man wanted to be healed!? He sat by the pool for years trying to be the first in the water. Of course he wanted to be made well. What a seemingly pointless question.
After doing a little studying, I came up with two reasons why Jesus might have asked the man this question:
1. To give him hope.
2. To get his eyes off of the pool and onto Jesus.
To Give Him Hope
The man needed hope. Time after time, he was never the first into the pool. The others who were sick would always beat him to the waters when the “angel” stirred it. Slowly, the man was losing hope. Yet, the man did not just need ANY hope…..he need MORE than hope.
To Get His Eyes Off the Pool
He needed Jesus. The man was placing his entire hope in this superstition. Scholars debate whether the angel was real or not. Either way, the man’s hope was not found in the pool. This man needed to look up at Jesus, his only source of hope. Jesus was saying: Stop looking around you for hope, look up at me.
What about you? Do YOU want rescued? Jesus is asking you today. He wants to offer you hope and cause you to get your “eyes off of the pool.” To be able to see the hope Jesus offers you, first you must stop looking around or inside of you.
I wrote a post about how if we look inside ourselves, we will never be enough to satisfy. We shouldn’t look around either. Our husbands, children, parents, or friends are not the solutions to our problems.
Right now, God is doing something really wonderful with our adoption process. I’ve checked my phone every 10-15 all. day. long. No answer. Waiting for an answer is sometimes the hardest part. I just don’t care what the answer is – I just want to know it!
God is teaching me that in my waiting, I can take my eyes off of the situation, and onto Him. He is my hope. If my heart gets broken, its ok. He holds my heart so close that I will still be ok. He is our salvation. No amount of tribulation will ever separate us from His love. He is our Father. With gentleness and care, He guides us through the hardships. He allows us to go through things to teach us to look up….at Him.
Get your eyes off of the “pool” or your circumstances, and onto Jesus, who is reaching down, ready to give you hope and healing!
Check out Keri’s “Honest Moments” as well at Living In This Season (dot) com.
Sarah E. Frazer is a writer and Bible study mentor at sarahefrazer.com. She is the wife of Jason and mother of five who all serve as full-time missionaries in Honduras. Her passion is to encourage women to fall in love with the Bible. Sarah is the author of several Bible study resources for women. She shares tools for deep-rooted Bible study at sarahefrazer.com. Follow her on Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/sarah_e_frazer) and join her free prayer challenge at sarahefrazer.com/prayer