April 10

Immediately made Whole

Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day, — John 5:8-9 BSB

The man might have said, “How can I rise? That’s exactly what I haven’t been able to do for thirty-eight years. Take up my bed? I couldn’t even lift a feather. Walk? I might as well try to fly. I can’t do any of these things until I’m cured.”

We’ve all heard people say similar things about starting the Christian life. They use their helplessness as an excuse to delay. But this man shows us a powerful lesson in obedience. The moment he heard the command, he made the effort to rise, and as he tried, the strength was given. New life came with his simple obedience. Christ never commands us to do something impossible. When he tells us to rise out of our sin and helplessness and begin walking with him, he intends to give us the grace and strength to do it.

The same is true of everything Christ asks of us in his service. People often think it’s “humility” to hesitate about accepting responsibility or doing what Christ asks, but it’s not humility—it’s unbelief and sin. We lie there on our beds, saying, “I don’t have the strength for this, or the wisdom for that,” when if we would simply rise up and obey Christ’s call, he would use us for great things.

This man showed his faith by immediately trying to do what Christ told him. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been healed. Many people lie spiritually paralyzed for years because they’re waiting to be healed before they try to get up and walk. Many never do anything worthwhile for Christ because they think they’re not capable of it. It’s time we learned to step forward without hesitation and do whatever Christ commands. When we do, we’ll find that we’re stronger than we thought.