HURT, HOPE, AND HELP

“One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked” (John 5:5-9).

After thirty-eight years, this man’s problem had become a way of life. No one had ever helped him. He had no hope of ever being healed and no desire to help himself. The man was paralyzed in sight of healing. His situation looked hopeless; that is, until the day that Jesus made his way through the crowd. Among all those trying to be healed, Jesus found the one who couldn’t help himself.

No matter how trapped you feel in your infirmities, God can minister to your deepest needs. Don’t let a problem or hardship cause you to lose hope. God may have special work for you to do in spite of your condition, or even because of it. Many have ministered more effectively to hurting people because they have triumphed over their own hurts.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.