Gabe continued the series by supercharging and shifting our faith to get unstuck and to prophesy that the second half of this year will be glorious. He injected our faith with fresh hope and courage to not only ‘Reach Far’ but also to ‘Raise up’ people who are stepping forward in faith. To change our perspective, we read from John 5 standing up, about the man who was lame for 38 years and who was finally healed by Jesus.
So, if you feel you are stuck in grief, in the same problem, the same diagnosis, the same obstacle and challenge, then this word is for you! God is saying to you today, where you have put a full stop, was only meant to be a comma! Our seasons of feeling stuck is just a brief pause before God moves us to better things.
Gabe highlighted 4 things that caused the lame man to be stuck:
- Stuck in Condition
It is time to stop accepting or embracing your condition or situation as your identity, for it is not who you are. Whatever has defined your life does not limit you to the power of change. Jesus is in the business of renaming us into who we have been called to be. It is time to stop glorifying, glamorising and romanticising our stuckness and start desperately desiring to get well again. It is time to stop being a victim of our tragedy and step into the victory that Jesus wants to give us. It is time to stop giving excuses and blaming others for our misfortune and start taking responsibility for our healing.
- Stuck in Superstition
You will notice in John 5 that there is no verse 4. This is because it is given as an addendum to help us understand the superstition of why paralysed people came to the pools of Bethesda, in the hope of getting healed. They believed that it was the first person lowered into the waters when it was first stirred that would be healed. It is time to ask ourselves what we have added to our thinking to make sense of our dysfunction and disabilities. The famous quote ‘God only helps those who help themselves’ is NOT Biblical. The chaos in your life is also NOT punishment from God. It is time to stop adding ‘buts’ and ‘becauses’ to your stories.
- Stuck in Isolation
When Jesus asked the lame man if he wanted to be well, instead of a yes or no answer, he blamed his lack of healing on others. This is so true for ourselves. We often blame our lack of growth on what people have done to us or not done for us. We hijack our futures by creating a false narrative. If you haven’t grown, maybe it is because you have not allowed yourself to be fully known, ie revealed the real you. It is time to stop surrounding ourselves with people who validate our dysfunction and time to hang out with a new crowd. We need a circle that doesn’t just tell us what we want to hear but is courageous to speak truth into our lives and call us to more. Too many Christians have become paralysed and unable to move forward because they have become disconnected from the Body, trying to pursue a private faith. Life Groups are essential to the growth of your faith towards maturity, even if they are sometimes not ideal, or convenient.
IT IS TIME TO BE SICK OF BEING STUCK!
- Stuck in Tradition
Despite being healed, some religious leaders chose to reject the miracle because it was performed on the Sabbath. We need to remember that Jesus is prepared to break every protocol, barrier and tradition to bless us with whatever miracle we need. It is time to stop waiting at our stagnant pools and trust Jesus to get us moving.
It was at this feast gathering that Jesus skipped the party to go to the pool that everyone was avoiding and where stuff had stopped moving. This is because Grace does not hang out at the country club, but rather in the ditch outside of the club. Jesus did not come for those who deserved it or demanded it, but for those who desperately needed His grace.
If you are sick of being stuck, then it is time to step into the grace of God to get moving again. It is time to not only be covered by grace but to be changed by grace. Let us allow Jesus to step into those places in our lives that have become stuck and left us paralysed with fear and shame, so He can unblock those spaces to allow His grace and power to flow fully.
Jesus says to you today ‘Get up’ – change your perspective to look at Him. ‘Pick up your mat’ – stop allowing your situation or circumstance to carry you, and instead carry it to change it. ‘Walk’ – move forward into your healing and away from your past.
The name Bethesda can be translated as both the house of mercy and grace or the house of shame and disgrace. Only Jesus can change the ‘same ole, same ole’ into something new and beautiful. Only by His power can our lives be transformed into the very opposite of what we are experiencing. We can choose to be unmoved and have nothing change, or we can step into the pool of grace and allow the healing waters of God’s grace to change and heal us.
It is time to stop being stuck and stagnant and to allow God to stir something afresh in us, as we respond to His invitation to move again. It is time to get moving again, get going and growing to full maturity in Christ. Let us lift up our hands to offer up our dry, weary brokenness to receive the living water of God’s healing to make us whole again. It is time to throw off our condition and allow God to rename us to something new and beautiful. It is time to become unstuck and flow forward in the grace of God.