How to be Healed through Jesus
How to be Healed through Jesus – 3 BIG steps
At a crowded feast, Jesus noticed a man sitting on his mat next to the pool of Bethesda. He had been lame for many years. He was waiting for the water to be “disturbed by an angel.” This would be his cue to jump in with the hope of being healed. He had a need and Jesus could help. Jesus went up to him and asked, “Do you want to be healed?”
The first BIG step– You must want to be healed.
There are many reasons an unwell person may not want to be healed, and Jesus does not force his healing on us. They may do not believe they can be healed. They may be comfortable with their condition and don’t want to change. Further, God may even have a special purpose for your affliction to be discovered. Healing is never going to be prefect in this world anyway. Even the lame man would die eventually after his healing. Healings and miracles in the Gospel of John are signs pointing to something greater that Jesus brings, eternal life.
However, if you believe God can heal you, if you are seeking and praying to God about it, if you want to be healed– you have reached the first big step.
The lame man answered Jesus with a waterfall of excuses. People pushed in before him. No one would help. Jesus cut him short and said, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk!”
The second BIG step– You must respond to Jesus’ instructions.
This step can involve taking multiple short steps of faith. For the man, these were to 1) get up– something he could only do with a great deal of difficulty, 2) take up his bed– take responsibility for himself rather than only looking to others, and 3) walk– something he couldn’t do. He was healed!
The man didn’t know it was Jesus, the Son of God. Nevertheless, God was speaking to him, and he responded. Jesus still speaks today. He calls us to action in specific, individual ways. This may mean researching about your illness, eating the right foods, listening to the advice of doctors, and taking appropriate medicines. After you receive your first miracle, the “healing” is not complete. There is a life-long process of spiritual and personal growth, and we are never totally healed until Jesus returns.
Jesus found the man again and gave him another important message. “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The last BIG step– You must change sinful habits.
There can be a connection between sin and sickness but not always directly. There is a dark side of the moon and a dark side of our hearts. The challenge of the Gospel is to receive forgiveness along with healing and, with the help of God’s Spirit, change the way we live and think. Learn to love your neighbour. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”