Morning Brew: Tuesday, Oct 6

Do you really want to get well? You have pain and affliction in your life. You’re suffering from the consequences of your own bad decisions and from forces outside of your control. You want relief and deliverance. So you cry out to God, “make me well!” But do you really want to get well?

In John 5, Jesus encounters a blind man by a pool of water. Instead of immediately healing him, Jesus asks him this question:

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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 5:5-6

Why wouldn’t an invalid want to get better after thirty-eight years? Perhaps he had grown comfortable in his condition. Perhaps the familiarity of the pain had actually become comforting for him. Once he was healed he would have to go out and work; no longer would everything be handed to him. Did he really want all of that responsibility? Did he really want to leave behind the familiar for the unknown?

How about you? That one thing that you’ve been praying about for months, do you really want God to answer it? What if he really gives you what you want, are you ready for the responsibility of it? What if the path to your destination is different than what you want? Do you still want to go there? Once you’re healed you can’t play the victim card anymore. Are you ready to leave that behind? Or has the familiar pain become a crutch to you? Do you really want to get well?

The man in John 5 answered “yes.” What’s your answer?

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: Have you ever had an unanswered prayer that later on you thanked God for not answering?