Text: John 5:1-18
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” —Jeremiah 32:27
“Be stronger than your excuses.” Those words I saw on a coffee cup could be the motto of some of my friends in Ghana who train for Paralympic sports.
These dedicated athletes inspire with their passion and drive, while never letting their functional limitations or physical disabilities lure them into a state of victimhood. They play soccer on crutches far more effectively than I can play soccer with my natural limbs! When I watch them compete, I get deeply convicted about the excuse-driven pity parties that can so easily beset me when things feel unfair in my life.
If anyone deserved to throw a pity party, it was the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said asked him one question:
“Do you want to be healed?”
The “sick man” appeared to have a very reasonable excuse for staying stuck in his despair: “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” This was a fair assessment of his seemingly unfair predicament. The poor man had been paralyzed for nearly four decades and he just couldn’t catch a break for what must’ve felt like an eternity. Everyone else always beat him to the punch. But this moment was different. The Person standing in front of Him was much bigger than his excuses. Christ’s omnipotent “ableness” was about to hijack the disabled man’s self-pity and make all the difference in his life.
Without a test, there isn’t a testimony. Don’t overlook the fact that it says Jesus “knew that he had already been there a long time.” Jesus was long aware of the struggle in this man’s life. Nothing this man ever faced in those thirty-eight years was beyond the knowledge of God. God always knows our pain, even when it feels like we are all alone in the struggle. And Jesus, knowing the man’s plight, had a plan of healing and redemption that would be a testimony for the ages.
No matter what you might be going through right now, know this beloved: Jesus is bigger and stronger than any of your excuses. Just like Jesus did for the man at the pool that day, He wants to navigate us beyond victimhood. God is faithful to confront those things that are paralyzing us—our doubts, our self-pity, our failures, our fears, our regrets, and all that debilitating shame that screams inside of us that we are not worthy of His love or healing. We serve a God who isn’t going to give up on us even though we might’ve given up on ourselves.
You can overcome your excuses because Jesus is bigger than all of them. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for always seeing my pain. You know my struggle even more infinitely than I am capable of understanding it myself. And you always have a plan that is for my good and your glory. Holy Spirit, empower me to see the risen Jesus victorious over everything I am facing today. Help me to abide in faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions for Personal Application or Group Discussion:
- When do you struggle with self-pity the most?
- In what ways can you relate to or empathize with the invalid in John 5?
- Where have excuses taken precedence over God’s presence in your life?
- What fears, doubts, circumstances, or situations tend to paralyze your faith?
- What excuses are standing between you and Jesus right now? Will you confess them, acknowledging that He is bigger and stronger?
