Heal Me

Inside the city, close to the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered yards. Lots of sick individuals — blind, weak, or incapacitated — lay on there. One of the sick men lying had been there for 38 years. . . . Jesus told him, "Stand up, get your mat, and walk!" Instantly, the man was healed!

John 5:2-5, 8-9

As the consequence of a jumping mishap, Joni Eareckson Tada was paralysed at seventeen years old. Soon after that, a companion sat by her bed and read the verse about the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda.

"It was the part about being an invalid for 38 years that got me," Joni recalls. "If it's not too much trouble, Lord, I can't survive without utilization of my hands or legs for three days, not to mention thirty years. I am not that man by the pool at Bethesda. Be sympathetic to me, same way you were to him. Heal me!"

Yet, Joni's request for a miracle appeared to go unanswered. After thirty years as she turned a corner while visiting Jerusalem with her husband, Ken, she encountered the remnants of that pool. Seeing her significant other, the tears gushing, she said, "Jesus didn't pass me by. He didn't disregard me. He addressed my request: He said, 'No.'"

And afterward came the shocking admission. "Also, I'm happy," she said. "A 'no' answer has cleansed sin from my life, reinforced my obligation to him, constrained me to rely upon grace, bound me with different believers, created insight, cultivated responsiveness, trained my psyche, helped me to invest my energy carefully, extended my expectation, made me know Christ better, helped me long for truth, drove me to repentance of sin, urged me to express gratefulness in the midst of distress, expanded my confidence, and reinforced my personality. Being in this wheelchair meant knowing him better, feeling his solidarity everyday."

"Are you alright?" her better half asked.

"Yes," she sniffed and snickered. "I can't believe that I'm crying and chuckling at the same time. There are more significant things in life than walking."

Much thanks to you, Joni, for letting us know peace, yet in addition for showing us what it looks like. 

How about we cheer up from the case of this astounding lady, so whether the response is yes or no, we can enjoy the profound peace that comes from knowing that God is faithful.

Dear Lord, I lift up my prayers to you, certain that you will respond to them in the best way possible.

Amen