Rise up and Walk

In the New Testament there’s an account of a crippled man who lay by the Pool of Bethesda.

John 5:2-9
2. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.

This man had lain, crippled, by the pool of Bethesda for years waiting for the waters to move, hoping that he could somehow be the first into the water. Then, he thought, his life would change forever, then he would walk away a new man. This story is one of Christ performing a miracle of service, but I think there’s also another lesson we can take from it as well.

How often do we wait for something miraculous to happen in our lives, something that will change everything, thinking that when this miracle happens, then we can be happy, then we can overcome our problems, then we can….? How often do we fly in a holding pattern? Do we believe that eventually an angel will come down to trouble our waters? Do we think that if somehow everything works out just right our lives will get better? Are we waiting for something outside of us to change how we are feeling on the inside?

I know that our thoughts and beliefs have everything to do with our success in life. Believing that things will work out is of great importance, but I also know that we must DO as well as believe, otherwise nothing will happen. The poor man in this story was playing the victim of circumstance, saying that he had no one to help him into the pool when the water was troubled. He had lost faith that he could change his life; he wanted someone else to do it for him. How many times have you been in that place? How many times have you thought: poor me, I can’t move, there is no one to help me, I’ll be stuck here forever. I believe we all do this to some degree.

So here is the lesson I see in this story: sometimes what we really need is to have faith and then “rise up and walk.” I know there are times we just don’t feel like taking the control of our lives that we know we need to. But we can get moving in the direction we want to go and have faith that it will all work out, we can push ourselves to move forward. Sometimes it’s about faking it ‘till you make it. I like to think of it as faithing it ‘till you make it.

I’ve experienced some “waiting by the pool” this winter. I had all of my family home for Christmas, which involved a ton of work and preparation. All through the busy season I was eating the rich holiday food that really is junk to my body. Then January came, gray and cold. I felt so tired and let down. I wasn’t doing my typical morning routine: exercise, affirmations, vision board, prayer, and scripture study. I was barely dragging myself through each day. I was in a slump, lying by the pool waiting for the water to move me! Then I heard a talk in church about service and the Pool of Bethesda and I realized that what I needed to do was “rise up and walk.” I needed to get off my butt! It was time for me to take control of my life again. I knew that Christ was, and is, out there waiting to help me, but if I wasn’t willing to start moving, there was nothing he could do for me. So I got moving. I started eating the foods that nourish my body instead of all the junk I’d made a habit of eating over the Christmas holiday. I forced myself to do the morning routine I mentioned. It took a week of forcing myself to go through the motions before my soul began to feel lighter. I’m now back on track and moving forward with my life, but first I had to choose to “rise up and walk” so that Christ could begin working in my life again.

My hope is that this blog will encourage you to take a look at your life. If you’re waiting by the pool for something to move it, I hope these words will help you have the faith to “rise up and walk.”