Seems like an absurd question for Jesus to ask a man who has been paralyzed for almost forty years. There he sits at the pool of Bethesda waiting for the angel of the Lord to come and stir the waters. He is not alone. There are many others with sicknesses of all kinds waiting for their chance to be healed.

Well, as I paused to ponder this very question that Jesus asked this man, I thought of all the times I had complained about my circumstances. Maybe I am not paralyzed in a physical sense, but often my heart and mind can be paralyzed by fear. I say I want healed, but am sometimes unwilling to face that next thing. That unknown obstacle that seems to stand in our path, that keeps us stagnant and unable to move forward.

Jesus’ very words enter my mind again.

That’s a question for all of us to think on. Healing and the freedom that comes with it is ours for the taking. Jesus offers us true healing for our mind, body, and spirit, but often we are content to stay in our paralyzed state, sitting by the pool making excuses for why we can’t make it to the water to be healed. Are we done making excuses? Do we want to experience the healing that comes by living water? That choice is both mine and yours this day.

It is my prayer for all of us that we may experience the freedom that comes when we partake of the only source that will quench our thirst. The living water, which comes from God’s own word. The world is thirsty. There are many wells to draw from, but none will leave us content and satisfied. Jesus is the only way.

Let’s draw from that well and thirst no more. Let’s stop living like we are still victims of circumstance. Jesus already died to set us free! Let’s go forth and live like we are free!