The Sick Body!

May 21, 2026

The Sick Body!

The man had been sick for 38 years.  It’s clear this is no simple cold or sinus infection.  This is the kind of illness or disease or affliction that has gradually become a way of life.  It is a life with little help from other people, a life with little hope for healing, and a life with little promise for any kind of abundance.

Enduring a sick body has a way of stealing away many of the things we cherish most; relationships with friends, opportunities to thrive, and faith in the Lord God.  The longer our body is less than we believe God intended or at least less than we had hoped, the more difficult peace and joy and love become.

I can’t imagine having a sick or afflicted body for 38 years.  It is not difficult to believe the man had already consulted all the doctors, he had already tried all kinds of medications and herbal treatments, and he had already engaged in all kinds of prayers and healing services.  But, there was no improvement…ever!

In John 5:6 we hear; “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’”  Jesus notices the man had been lying on the floor for a long time. 

But, there is something more we learn about sickness.  Jesus asks the man with the sick body; “Do you want to be made well?”

Sometimes illness and disease become a way of life.  Without the pain or the inconvenience or the therapies we would not recognize our own life.  We can surrender to the malady in such a way that our life becomes defined by the sickness or the limitation more than it does by some other measure.

Sometimes a sick body gets in the way of following Jesus because we focus on the disease rather than on Jesus.  A sick body can get in the way of trusting Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind, and body.  When we feel our body or our life or our relationships are less than we had hoped, it is important to ask if we have become comfortable with the “sickness.” 

In other words, has the wound or the pain or the disappointment become a way of life for us.  Apparently, this might be the case for the man that Jesus meets.  Jesus asks; “Do you want to be made well?” 

What if Jesus asked you that question today?  Do you want your strained marriage to be better?  Do you want your relationship with your alienated child to be better?  Do you want your chronic back pain to be better?  Do you want your life to be different?

I encourage you to take some time right now to read John 5:1-9.

It is interesting that the sick man blames other people for his continued sickly state.  In John 5:7 the man says to Jesus; “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”  No one will help me!  Other people get in my way!  No one pays attention to my pain!  Other people need healing more than me!  My condition is too serious!  I am not important enough to be healed!

Sometimes we blame other people for our pain and wounds and afflictions.  Other times we make excuses for the lack of help or the lack of hope or the lack of faith.  The man lying on the floor answers Jesus’ question of whether he wants to be made well.  He seems to say; “Yes, but…”

I wonder how many times we respond to an offer of healing or help or hope in our life with a similar answer; “Yes, but…”  What if we opened ourselves to the healing touch of Jesus, the help of other people, and the hope that comes through faith in the Lord God?

The reality is you and I may not be fully restored.  However, we can still receive healing and help and hope.  When that happens, our life will be filled with delight.  But whether we are fully healed or not, our response to the love and healing of Jesus is always the same as it was for the sick man Jesus healed.

In John 5:14 we hear; “Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well!…’”  The man who was healed goes to the Temple to seek confirmation that he has been healed and to give His praise and worship to the Lord God.

We can begin to praise the Lord God before the healing of our different wounds and brokenness and pain is completed by Jesus.  We can praise the Lord God rather than blame other people for our pain.  We can praise the Lord God rather than make excuses for our lack of willingness to seek the Lord.  We can choose to be open to the Lord’s healing. 

When healing comes, our heart will fill with delight.  When help comes, our heart will fill with joy.  When hope returns, our heart will fill with even more love for Jesus.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug