Get Up and Walk

5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. John 5:5-9

The man who had been ill for thirty-eight years spent his days lying on a mat beside the pool waiting for anyone to help him. Jesus healed him, and the man picked up his pallet and began to walk. As Christians, we have become invalids. We are sick with diseases of the heart and mind. We sit helplessly, void of any happiness, looking to others to better our condition.

We look and look but find no answers.

We feel alone.

We face obstacles.

We feel helpless.

Like this sick man, we face three dilemmas:

“Waiting for anyone to help him…” The sick man sits alone and fends for himself. How many times have you felt alone or helpless? We encounter problems that nobody can solve. This sick man cannot solve his problem of standing up and getting into the pool because he cannot walk. He has been a cripple for thirty-eight years. He needs the help of others, but others are not helping.
“… while I am coming, another steps down before me…” Not only does this sick man have no help, but also others get in his way. They obstruct him. We come across a lot of people, things, and situations that get in our way. They are walls we must climb over, and in many cases, these obstructions make us give up. And we become barriers for others. We hold others down and get in their way.
The sick man is weak and powerless. He is physically weak. He has no money. He has nothing but the clothes on his back and a pallet. We have become weak because we have strayed from God. Like this sick man, we have become invalids, weak and feckless.

How do we overcome these three dilemmas? How do we overcome nobody helping us and feeling alone in the world? How do we overcome obstacles and our weaknesses? When God says to, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Get up and walk! Do what God commands. In every situation we confront, God speaks to us. He wants us to do something. Listen to His command and act accordingly. If we listen to God, our happiness will “get up and walk.” Our families, economic situations, characters, humility, and benevolence will rise! Once we listen to God, get up, take our pallets, and walk, God solves all our problems. Doing what God commands may seem ridiculous! Climb into a lion’s den! Walk into a fire! But we must not appraise situations and outcomes according to our narrow point of view. Leave it in God’s hand and discretion.

Instead of always looking to be helped, if we get up and walk, we become someone who helps others. Instead of becoming someone who impedes others, we become facilitators. We support and encourage others. Instead of being weak and powerless, we become strong in God. Recognize we are the man who was sick for thirty-eight years. If we listen to God, we rise and walk. We leave behind sickness, weakness, helplessness, and impediments. All our problems are solved, and we walk into a new world!

Summary