Nougat 15

Please receive Today’s Holy Nougat.

“Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.” John‬ ‭5:2-3, 5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is so easy for us to get crippled by mental, emotional or spiritual concerns that several of us are there without even realizing it. Now that is problematic. For, when we walk around with our wounds exposed, we are at risk of them being further injured.

We also need to guard ourselves lest we are constantly in the company of hurt people. For, if everyone is sitting by the pool awaiting the troubling of the water, it means that

• We are hanging with people incapable of lifting us up
• We are in a rat race of negative competition trying to be the first (and only one) to succeed and no looking back
• We are likely to be so consumed by our infirmity that we cannot even be beneficial to others.

We see where that had become the reality for one of the citizens of the pool. He was living with his condition for almost a lifetime and it seemed there was no end in sight. 38 years is a very long time. Yet he seemed to have become a fixture at the pool.

Is any of us living like that man? Are we carrying around a lifetime of suffering, anxiety, fear, doubts, unconfessed sin? This is not for judgement; rather this may be the prelude to our liberty. For, if we are at least AWARE of our infirmity, then perhaps there’s scope to diagnose, treat and access healing.

My fervent prayer today is that you and I might be gifted this day to see the lifelong burden that has kept us stuck at the pool’s edge. I also pray that we see others who are also afflicted, so when we find healing deliverance, we can share our blessings with them.

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May all we seek be found in Christ