His Word

^"Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When 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?” John 5:2-6Illness takes a toll on the body. If it is a short-term illness such as a common cold you recognize that it will take time but that you will get better. On the other hand, chronic illness is debilitating, often lasting for months and years at a time occasionally with no remedy in site. Such was the condition of the man in John 5. According to scripture this man suffered for thirty-eight years with no relief. Apparently he heard about a pool where “at a certain season” an angel would come down and trouble the water and anyone who got in the water first would be healed. Based on his condition, his odds of receiving healing were slim.What a great incentive to get to the pool, to get to the place that no matter how serious your ailment, if you could just get in that water first, healing would take place. Unfortunately for this man he didn’t have the ability to do so, someone was always getting there before him. However it only took one meeting with Jesus and he was healed.That’s what happens when you encounter Christ. He can change your chronic condition bringing immediate healing for your mind, body, and your spirit. It wasn’t getting in the water that brought this man’s healing. It was Jesus’ spoken word that brought hope to hopelessness. The question you have to ask yourself is, “Will thou be made whole”?