Rise! Pick up your mat and walk.
John 5:8
Jesus never wasted words. He spoke with purpose and always in alignment with the Father's Will. His words not only changed people but set in motion a new expression of God's work on the earth.
One day a man suffering from paralysis for 38 years was a recipient of those words. Jesus found him on one of the five covered porches surrounding the Pool of Bethesda. He was laying on his mat as he had done for almost four decades. After a brief conversation Jesus spoke se7en words over the man that changed everything for him. Rise! Pick up your mat and walk. And the man did so.
Se7en words from Jesus can get rid of 38 years of misery! It's not magic, but it is mysteriously powerful and compelling. I can't begin to understand or explain why Jesus only interacted with this man on that day and not all the others near the pool as well. Maybe He returned later that day, and it is not recorded for us. But this one thing I am confident: Jesus has words of life for everyone. He has words that can change everything. Jesus' words have the power to deliver us from whatever porch of misery we might find ourselves.
Ex nihilo,
R.J. Rhoden
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