Are You Sick?

I am so glad to meet a friend that I knew from Indonesia last year. I am really joyous though I did not have much contact nor conversation with him during the Indonesia ministry trip last year. I'm so glad maybe it's because I couldn't believe that God will let us meet once again and to worship together once again.

Today he was invited to share on his experiences in different countries with us during our night worship. He was sharing about healing and how God healed him when he did not realized that he was "sick" spiritually. It was indeed a good sharing and I was reminded once again that our God is a great Provider.

He was very animated when he was sharing. I was staring at him imagining him in such situation. But something that he shared from the bible really caught my attention. He shared on John 5: 1- 9 as shown below.

John 5: 1- 9

The Healing at the Pool

¹Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. ²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda^{a]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.^{b]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]} ⁵One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶When 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?" ⁷"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." ⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

I highlighted three points which caught my attention. The passage mentioned that that was a place where many disabled people laid. This man was lying there for 38 years but he did not get a chance to get into the pool to be healed. When Jesus asked him whether he wanted to get well (that's a stupid question, yeah), he said that nobody helped him into the pool when the water was stirred. I sat there thinking, most of the people there were sick, they were all unwell and awaiting to be lifted , to be healed. Then a question occurred in my mind,"Why can't the others just give him a hand since they were going through the same problem and they desired for the same thing- healing?"

I was impressed by this thought that "a sick will not be able to lead another who is sick". Thus, that man was there for 38 years until someone perfect came to him to lead him to the pool. Last year end, my soul was sick. Though I had my holidays, I still felt very tired and moody. Maybe it was because of the busy period and tiredness with work, church and studies. When it was near January this year, especially when I started working again with the children and parents, a thought came to me telling me that I must lift my spirit if not I will not be able to help the kids and the parents. I told myself that I did not have time to be moody. From that day onwards, I was lifted and am enjoying my work now.

I do believe that the man who laid there for 38 years was because of this reason- the blind will not be able to lead the deaf. For those who are keen to help people, to reach out to people and to be a comfort to people, I am sure that we should keep our soul and spirit healthy so that we will be able to help, comfort and guide the lost effectively. Let's encourage, pray and motivate one another so that our soul and spirit will be well and ready for the purpose that God has planned for us.