Get up and Walk! (John 5:8)

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?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John 5:6-9)

There is always interesting and challenging question from my secretary. Few days ago she asked me: “Ma’am, do you believe in miracles? Then I replied: “Yes, of course! I strongly believe there is a miracle as long as we put our faith not on the wrong base” She looked a little bit puzzled. She asked again: “What do you mean not on the wrong base?”

My mind drifted away. I am reminded of a story in the Bible about a paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda. He was paralyzed for 38 years. This story is an example of someone who expects a miracle happens to him but bases his faith only to the humans. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well, he replied: “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in someone else goes down ahead to me.”(John 5:7) He expecting a miracle but only relies on human aid. This is what I mean by put our faith at the wrong base.

This often happens in the Christians lives. We often expect miracles happen but we let out our faith just lying on the wrong thought. Moreover, we don’t know how to build the true faith and don’t know how it works. So we look God’s miracle seems as a thing that so hard to reach. In fact, God’s miracle only base on one word “Only in You” When we need help people can fulfill it but when we need miracles, only God alone that can do it. This paralyzed man hoping a miracle happens to him but year after year he only focused on people who passing in the front of him.

How often we spend our time to knock our fellow’s door? How often we spend our time to knock God’s door heart and express our powerlessness? This is the key to present miracles in our life. Miracles will not come from our friends, neighbors, or others but only from God alone.

Having very hard problems such as lose jobs, financial issue, family or whatever it problems often cast us to the “valley” of despair. The question is how long we will let our Christianity life is in the despair condition? This verse will be a key! “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for long time (verse 6), He said: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”(Verse 8)

My dear lovely readers, whether we are waiting and expecting miracles happen in our lives but we feel as if the miracle was so hard to reach? Let us ponder and ask again if we have put our faith in the right base? To whom we lean and hoping? Whether only to humans as was done by paralyzed man or to God which had been proven to be able to bring miracles into our lives? Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (John 6:14)

It’s time we get up and throw away all of our despair, stepped into His presence. The more we expecting miracles happen, we must more earnest and diligent in prayer. Through prayer we build our faith and put in on God’s power. Ask to God to enables us so that always trust in His power in every situation. Only in God we can accept miracles. Amen

Karina – Living by Faith

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