Today’s Scripture: John 5:9-13
I must confess this story creates more questions for me than answers. John states that a “great number of disabled people” were lying at the pool, waiting for their opportunity to be put into the water. Why did Jesus ignore the others and focus only on this one man? Did an angel really come and trouble the water? Could the people see the angel? Did they have advanced warning? Did the people camp by the pool 24-7? If they were lame or paralyzed, how did they manage to get into the water? Who helped them? Did they have to pay someone to look after them? If Jesus had real compassion, why didn’t He perform a mass healing and clear out the entire area?
We don’t know what we don’t know. But, we can learn from what we DO know. We know Jesus used the man’s healing to show the Jews that their legalistic restrictions about the Sabbath were unreasonable. If that’s the case, it seems the man’s healing was secondary, doesn’t it?
If we face a tough circumstance, maybe a healthy attitude would be to first ask God what His greater intent is for our trial. We might discover we’re just one player in a broader purpose for someone else’s change.
- If you learned that God was using your challenging situation for someone else’s benefit, how would that change your attitude about your trial?
- What’s your initial response when life gets tough? How can you turn your trials into learning experiences?