I don't know if you are familiar with "The Chosen" series...to be honest, I have not yet watched it, but now I believe I will. Here is a scene that I just found on YouTube that means a lot to me:
The scene of healing at the Pool of Bethesda from The Chosen
John 5:1-9 (NKJV)
A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
"1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time,
He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And that day was the Sabbath"
And that day was the Sabbath"
So why is this so interesting to me today? Some of you know that I've been dealing with some physical issues lately...nothing terribly serious, at least not as far as we know, but enough to keep me from being able to fully enjoy life as much as I would like to. I've recently been having some headaches that I have found to be somewhat debilitating. The Doctor prescribed a medication that is normally used as an antidepressant, but which also, at a lower dose, is good for tension headaches. So I tried it.
However, I don't believe he prescribed the lowest dosage available, and the side effects of this medicine have been much too strong for me. Instead of making me feel better, I was feeling like a zombie and actually starting to feel depressed and anxious...just the opposite of what it was supposed to do for me. And so I called his office Monday morning to ask if the dosage could be lowered. The Doctor will not be in this week and I will have to see his P.A. in person before any changes can be made. I can not see her until Wednesday morning. After spending another day of zombie like behavior, and crying myself to sleep, my hubby said that I was not to take any more of that medicine. And so I didn't take it that night. The next day I felt some better...no zombie feelings, no crying...but still I have a slight headache.
Then something very very unusual happened this afternoon. I was sitting here at my computer in my "Room With A View", which looks out over Still Waters Pond. I noticed a very strange appearance in the water and in the air above the water. At first I thought perhaps the geese had just landed and they were chasing each other around like they usually do. But on closer look there were no geese, no birds of any kind. The waters of "Still Waters Pond" were being stirred up like a fountain. The air was swirling around and around above the waters, and the waters were spraying around in a circle. I called to my hubby to look so he could see it too as I ran to find my camera. We both watched in awe as I finally got my (real) camera open and zoomed in, but by then the waters were slowing down and the fountain was disappearing, but I managed to get this picture:
I enhanced the color a bit so you could see the contrast of the spraying water in the air, and if you look just behind those tree branches on the surface of the water, you can see that the waters were stirred up and they look a little more aqua in color. It was a marvelous sight...something we have never ever seen before here on Still Waters Pond. Especially during a perfectly calm, sunny and warm afternoon. There was no wind anywhere else, and it wasn't even cloudy.
At the time I didn't think much of it, except that it was very unusual. But later, at supper time, I was sharing this with our son who had come home from work. And as I was telling him about this strange occurrence I suddenly described it like the "angel stirring up the waters in the Pool of Bethesda"...and as I said that out loud it hit me...what if this was like that? What if this was God's special way of getting my attention to ask me "Do you want to be made well?"...and here I sit saying, "but I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up..." And Jesus looks me in the eyes again and says to me, "Pamela, Rise, take up your bed and walk." Now, I know, I am not crippled or lame...but oftentimes things like headaches or frozen shoulders or tummy issues can and do cripple us and keep us from living the life God wants us to live. And lately that's how I've felt. I've been missing the women's Bible studies quite a bit and some of our other Women's ministries because I didn't feel good. There are a lot of things that I've been missing or unable to help with because of these issues. Also I no longer do much entertaining in our home or inviting people over because I don't feel up to cleaning the house and cooking for company. Oh, I do the basics to keep things clean enough for our daily living, but you know how it is when company's coming...you want to go the extra mile with cleaning and making sure everything is just right. Sadly, over the past couple of years I've let a lot of things slide, and it's really making me feel unhappy.
"Pamela, Do you want to be made well?", again I hear Jesus asking. "Yes, Lord, I do want to be made well." "Then rise, take up your bed and walk." Hmmm, so, do I keep the appointment with the P.A. tomorrow morning? Do I keep trying to take medicines that are doing me more harm than good?
Right now tonight as I write this my thoughts are that I am claiming my healing by faith. Yes, I will keep the appointment tomorrow, only to tell the P.A. that I do not intend to take this medicine in any dosage anymore. I am going to believe what God is telling me and trust Him for my healing. If I thought He was telling me to request more tests or further medicines, then I would do that. But right now I truly believe God is telling me to trust Him for healing. So I am putting this in writing tonight and asking you, my praying friends here in blogland as well as others who may read this, to pray with me regarding this. I want to be made well. I want to get back to a full life again.
Maybe this message is for some of you out there as well...perhaps you need that little extra push or visual aid to get your attention to believe God for whatever it is that is hurting you or for decisions you need to make. He doesn't always send angels to stir up the waters in a perfectly calm afternoon, but sometimes He uses other methods to get our attention. What will it be for you? "Do you want to be made well?"
Thank you for listening and reading and praying with me. I will also be praying for you if you ask me to. God bless you all, my dear friends.
