Get Up / Part 1

Happy October & Happy Fall! My favorite time of year and my birth month. ????

Have any of these thoughts ever ran through your mind?

• It’s too late for me. My life is at the point of no return.
• I’ve been this way for so long, is change even possible?
• Why should I even get my hopes up only to be let down time and time again?
• Does anyone care that I am like this? Don’t they see me?
• Do I even matter? The reason that I am like this is not even my fault.
• I made the worst decision of my life, there is no way I can bounce back from this!
• This is just the way I am and I might as well accept it.
• Life is so unfair, everyone around me seems to be thriving and doing well. Why did God even create me?

If this has ever been your thought pattern, then you are in good company because I can totally relate. Some of the things that happened are beyond our control while others are a direct result of our poor choices. Either way, a brighter day can seem out of reach and it’s easy to settle for where we are, lose hope and even believe we deserve it.

I never want to minimize anyone’s pain, trauma or heartache. I understand that many people have gone through unimaginable horrific experiences at the hands of someone who was supposed to love and protect them. But I do want to let you know that there is life and hope beyond anything you have been through. Jesus is fully acquainted with your pain and He longs to heal you.

This month, we will look at the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda. He had been disabled for 38 years which is also equivalent to 13,870 days or 456 months. That is a very long time! Scripture does not tell us how he became disabled or how long he had been at the pool when he encountered Jesus.

We too like this man at the pool can sometimes find ourselves so broken and damaged by our own choices or at the hands of others that we accept our current reality, stop trying or even believing that change is possible.

Well, let me be the bearer of GREAT news today!

It is not too late. Jesus has one question for you. Just one. Do you want to be made whole?  If so, GET UP!

When we realize that we are broken, we have to be honest with God and ourselves to allow healing to begin. We have to tell ourselves the hard and honest truth. Now is not the time to play the victim, shift the blame or feel sorry for ourselves. The man at the pool was experienced in making excuses. He could explain to anyone that asked why he was not getting healed.  Even with our own brokenness, we can tell the story of what happened, what they did to us, how it was not fair, and while all of this may be true, it still does not release us from the responsibility of doing the work to heal.

Brokenness become my default for a very long time. I thought I was the victim and just had to accept what I signed up for. Most of the situations I found myself in were 100% my fault but they originated from events in my childhood that were beyond my control. However, I had to move past the excuses, blame shifting and have a “come to Jesus” meeting with myself. One day, it finally dawned on me that no one was coming to “put me in the pool” and I had to believe that I deserved wholeness. I did not know what wholeness looked like but I wanted the pain to end so I got up! Getting up started with simply changing my mind about what was possible for me.

What keeps us broken?

• Denial: Although the man at the pool was disabled which was beyond his control, provision had been made for his healing. Our brokenness could also be a result of things beyond our control (childhood trauma, abandonment, abuse, rejection, sickness, divorce, loss) but God still desires for us to be made whole. Denial does not change the situation; it keeps us bound and our situation will progressively get worse.

• Excuses: The man at the pool’s first response to Jesus was an excuse…”Sir when the water is stirred, I don’t have anyone to put me in, by the time I get there, somebody else is already in.” We too make excuses, “It’s my mother’s fault, she’s the reason I am like this. It’s my boss’ fault that I lost my job. I was on the right track until he broke my heart. It was all good until the foreclosure or bankruptcy. We place our healing in the hands of someone else and make it their responsibility to make us whole. We are determined to somehow make them pay or see the damage they’ve caused us. The person/thing that caused you pain will not bring you healing. And waiting for them to do so only keeps you bound and disappointed. You are wasting precious time!

• Attention we get from being broken: The man at the pool had been there a long time and you would think he would have figured out a way to get into the water. He even stated by the time I get there; somebody is already in. I am sure he had countless opportunities to receive his healing but sometimes it’s easier to stay the way we are because of the secondary gain we get by doing so. By staying broken, we get to tell our story countless times and place the blame on someone else. While the initial act or experience may have been their fault, receiving healing lies with us. Attention always makes our flesh feel better…temporarily. But it keeps us from looking inward and seeing how we contribute to our own dysfunction. We never face ourselves.

• Unwillingness to do what it takes to be healed: The man was AT THE POOL, in the area where healing was taking place. God gives us many opportunities to be made whole. We have access to Jesus, Christian therapists (yes, I believe in therapy), trusted friends, wise counsel but we are the initiators. And refusing to do so, limits our potential and keep us stuck. Ask yourself, how has my life improved and what have I gained from brokenness? I think it’s safe to say nothing…nothing positive anyway.

Before the man at the pool could physically get up, he had to make a decision to change his mind. All he knew was the low place but his way of getting healed was not working. The people around him were in a similar situation and not able to help either.  Jesus singled him out and gave him one on one, personal attention. Jesus did not sit on the mat beside him but stood above him and asked him to get up. I love that Jesus remained standing because he knew that better awaited him, he called him from that low familiar place to experience a level of freedom that he had never known. Jesus wants to do the same for you, my friend!

I don’t want to leave you hanging until next month, so head on over to Get Up part 2 where I share how we can be made whole.   It’s about to get real good! ????

I love reading and replying to your comments! ????  Come and join me for Part 2!

You are celebrated and appreciated my fellow Party of ONE!

God’s best always,

Leslie