From the account found in John 5, the pool of Bethesda most often lay still and dormant surrounded by people in great need. It was occasionally (infrequently) stirred. Sometimes troubled. Mostly useless, and surrounded by unmet expectations.
It wasn't until the water was stirred, or troubled, that somebody would be helped. As long as the water stayed calm, or unmoved, the needs of those around it went unanswered.
I don't want to live a life like that. Infrequently, if ever, stirred. Hidden away in comfortable complacency, untroubled by the needs of those around me.
I want to be stirred. I want to be troubled. I want to live as if Heaven and Hell hung in the balance.
But I have discovered that no matter how stirred I get, unless there is a continual stirring, or agitation, I can quickly settle back into complacency once again. And I can't rely on some external person, or event, to stir me (the elusive angel at the pool). This is a responsibility that is mine alone.
It is my responsibility to determine the time I will spend with God allowing Him to speak to my heart. It is my responsibility who I associate with and the voices I listen to (1 Corinthians 15:33). It is my responsibility whether or not I turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the needs and cries of those around me.
As far as I can tell from the story in John 5, one person had their needs met that day and countless others continued their vigil around a dormant body of water. Waiting, hoping, and probably even praying that it would get stirred enough to meet them at their point of need and help them.
I'm convinced there are people around you and I doing the exact same thing.
Wow...nothing like going straight for the jugular. Very effective.
Posted by: Annie Sherbrooke | Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 11:10 PM