Get Up and Walk

Get up and walk.

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
“I can’t sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool, when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me.”
Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!”
—John 5:1-8

What do you want? Really. If you were to stand before God, and if he were to tell you, “Tell me what you want—I’ll give you anything,” what would you say? Most of us probably wouldn’t have to think about it before our mouths opened.
Sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it? You see, everyone has something they desire over anything, and it changes from person to person. You know what yours is. Something you desperately want, something you hunger and crave for. Something that seems impossible, out of your reach. Something you foam at the mouth for, yet you can only see with your eyes—or your imagination.
Maybe you are really wanting that guy or girl you’ve been spending more and more time with. Or maybe you just want to shed off all that fat. Perhaps you’re lonely and want some real friends. Maybe your desires are simpler. Get away from the hectic whirlwind called life and just spend some time in quiet peace. Others may dream of being the athletic star, or of becoming a famous musician. Maybe you even want to be a minister someday, and you want to start a church out in the backwoods. I don’t know. I know what I want. I know what I desire. You know what you want—so does God.
See how Jesus knew how long the man by the pool had been ill? See, now, how God knows your desires and dreams and aspirations? Your fears and discomforts? How he knows everything about you? And do you see how Jesus didn’t walk past the man; do you see how he cared? Do you see how Jesus didn’t just touch him and heal him, and then go on his ways; do you see how he loved? And tell me, do you see how Jesus looked him in the eye and said, “Would you like to get well?” Do you see how Jesus kneels down next to you and asks, “What is it you want? What you really want?”
What do you want? Maybe something impossible. Or seemingly impossible, anyways. Jesus knew what the man wanted; the man knew what he wanted. The man didn’t even answer, “yes” or “no.” He jumped right into excuses: “I am always late getting into the healing pool—I can’t get well!” His excuse echoes into ours. “I want this guy/girl, but I can’t stomach the nerve to make the move.” “It’s so much work to work off the fat, and it will take so long!” “I want new friends, God, but you don’t understand—I’m too shy!” “I can’t be a minister! I’m not a talker!” See how the excuses just swell for every one of us. You want something—and you’re being held back from it. What is your excuse?
God isn’t a big fan of excuses. Countless times in the Bible God ignores people’s excuses, or gets mad about them. How excuses over sin aren’t excuses at all. How there are no excuses for not doing good. Oh, and let us not forget Moses—“I’m not a talker!” What did God say? To sum it up, “Don’t worry. Stop crying. I’ve got things under control. I’ll even help you out by sending Aaron…” You have excuses—but God is not bound by excuses, as we often find ourselves bound. He isn’t captive.
The man by the pool gives his excuse. Does Jesus counter with an argument? No. He flat-out tells the man, “Get up and walk.” And the man gets up, and walks.
We all have dreams and aspirations and goals. We don’t think we can meet them. The chances are too slim, it’s too hard, you’re not made up of the ‘right stuff.’ God doesn’t care. Often he puts desires in our heart because we are meant for these desires. Desires define who we are. What kind of God would give us desires and refuse us to live them out? God doesn’t do that. He gives us desires and gives us the power to step up and grab them by the horns. We have the power. And if we think we don’t—if our lips open up in an excuse—God will tell us again, “Get up and walk.” Get off your butt and start working. He isn’t going to do everything for us. Want to lose weight? Start exercising and eating better. Want to be a famous musician? Practice! Want to be a backwoods minister? Overcome your fear and start living out your dreams. You have the power to do it. Moses didn’t think he had the power, but God gave it to him—and he freed the Israelites from slavery.
Get up and walk.