Would You Be Healed

LoveQuest Incorporated

358 Avery Landing Augusta, GA 30907

Because Your Family Matters

"Now a certain man was there (Pool of Bethesda) who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition for a long time, He said, "Do you want to be made well?" John 5:5 NKJV

What a question! Jesus asks the man who has suffered with a debilitating infirmity if he wants to be healed. A superfluous question? Couldn't be. This is Jesus. He does nothing without purpose. So what's up with this? Sure the man wants to be healed. Who wouldn't? You might be surprised. Many wouldn't. In fact, most wouldn't. When faced with the requirements and new responsibilities of change, many, if not most, walk away.

Early in my ministry and counseling career, I had the miraculous privilege of spending a weekend with one of the pioneers of Christ-centered, grace-based counseling, Dr. Charles Solomon. Through an unusual set of circumstances, Kaye and I had unlimited access to Dr. Solomon along with just a few other couples, all pastors and their wives. In one of our discussions on suffering in the life of the believer he made this statement: "Four out of five of the people who come to you for help will not be willing to make the changes necessary in their lives. They must go back out into the world and suffer some more." That was 28 years ago, and I have found it to be all too true.

So why wouldn't someone want to be changed, healed, or made whole? Because healing brings about a whole new set of responsibilities. For some it means letting go of the past and forgiving someone of their offenses. For some it means that they are now accepting responsibility for their own actions. For others it means giving up something they see as being a vital part of their lives. For most it means eventually becoming vulnerable, at some level, to new hurts and wounds. And for everyone it means surrendering more and more control of their lives to someone they have absolutely no control over, God.

Think about this man at Bethesda for a moment. As promising as his healing is toward a new life, he would be abandoning life as he had known it for the past 38 years. Now he would be responsible for providing for himself, feeding himself, clothing himself. No longer could he blame others for his condition. ("I have no one to put me in the pool," he said.) When he left the pool, he would become vulnerable to society and new circles of friends, no longer safe in the circles he'd known for so long. Yes, there was room for him to hesitate. . . to hesitate just like you and I do when faced with major change in our lives.

Think now about a wife that has suffered the pain of an adulterous husband. Consenting to take him back, she has come for counseling hoping for help to rebuild their shattered marriage. Her greatest dream is to have back the husband she married and to build the intimate marriage she's yet to experience. But to get there, she must venture into depths of danger she never imagined. There is coming a day when she must not just allow this man back into her life, she must also allow him back into her heart. The intimacy she wants requires the vulnerability that once broke her heart. The love she desires, demands an exposure to future hurt she has purposed never to allow again. She's going to have to have more faith in God and be further out on the water than ever before. It is enough to lead some to pick a fight and destroy their own recovery.

Then there's the husband. If he's repentant, all he can think of is having his wife back, regaining the trust she once had, breaking down the walls with his daughter and rebuilding the respect of his son. All this can happen, but not without wading through a lot of reproach from his family and from his friends. He's going to have to deal with the guilt, the second guessing, and the person who just found out. There will be nights he is awakened by the sobs of his wife as she struggles with the pictures in her mind of him with the other woman. It's all part of the perfecting of his repentance. And then there is the reproach before the Lord as he comes to a place of genuine repentance and realizes that his greatest sin was against God. "Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight," said King David after the Bathsheba affair. Genuine repentance is the product of a work of God over time. Not everyone is willing to pay the price.

Consider the addict. For years he has found a refuge in his drug of choice. It's his escape from reality. It's his friend that's always there. It's the path of least resistance. It's the brief, but sure, escape from pain. To abandon his drug means to leave his "safe place." It means taking responsibility and facing the unpleasant things of life. It means dealing soberly with his own faults, failures, and sins, and it is the end of idolatry and co-dependence and the beginning of morality and character. It is a whole different lifestyle and that scares some to the point of sabotaging their own recovery. I have many more examples, but you get the picture.

So what are we saying? We all want healing. But the stark truth of the matter is that we are just not prepared to give up that much control over our lives spiritually, emotionally, or physically. Change comes as the Holy Spirit is given, and He takes, more and more control over our lives. I am convinced that there are identifiable events in our lives where huge areas of control are surrendered. In fact these times are so profound that some have labeled them "a second work of grace". But for the most part this seems to be a process whereby we surrender to His will in daily life situations, and He takes us deeper into His revelation of who He is resulting in a pure heart, a refined faith, and an unspeakable joy.

Being out of control frightens us. We combat fear in many forms as we face life: fear of hurt, fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of failure. But most of all we combat pride. Pride is simply elevating ourselves to the same level as God, reserving for ourselves the final decisions of life. Yes, change can happen, but it means giving control of our lives and futures to someone we barely know and understand . . . the Holy Spirit of God.

Do we really want to be healed? Would you be made whole? The real question is, "Are you prepared to surrender that much of your life to Jesus Christ and the control of His Holy Spirit?" Some are just simply not there yet. But for those who are, abundant life in Jesus Christ awaits. Genuine change is possible.

Do You Want To Be Made Well?

Would You Be Healed?