The Pool

Let me begin by asking the question "what is your biggest problem at present and how is it hindering your life?" In John chapter 5 we are introduced to a man that has been sick for 38 years. When Jesus sees him and asks if he wants to get well, he responds by focusing upon his biggest problem. He says, "when the water is troubled I have no one to put me into the pool." Jesus was offering this man an opportunity to be healed but he was preoccupied by the pool. He like many was focused upon the wrong thing. Too often our problems become our pool, which limits our lives. The problem becomes the focus of our lives. It becomes our pet and each time we are challenged to move beyond it we grab it and say "you see I have this problem." It is easy to blame our problems for where we are in life. According to the Bureau of Standards in Washington a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of less than one glass of water. That amount of water is divided into about 60 billion tiny droplets. Yet when those minute particles settle over a city or a countryside they can almost blot out everything from your sight. Many Christians today live their lives in a fog. They allow a cupful of troubles to cloud their vision and dampen their spirit. Anxiety, turmoil, and defeat strangle their thoughts and limit their potential. Jesus offered the paralytic the opportunity to move beyond his pool. He took the deal and received physical and mental healing. Jesus offers us the same; the ability to move away from our problems and into the realm of promise. I'm ready, aren't' you?