Rise, Take up Thy Bed and Walk

Holy cow- such a great study today! I think the biggest thing I took from my reading today is the importance of faith in everything we are and everything we do. First off, a quick review of faith:

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."(Hebrews 11:1)

"Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."(Alma 32:21)

From these verses, we learn faith isn't a perfect knowledge, that our hope is anchored in something which isn't necessarily visible or tangible in the moment, and that whether we can see it or not doesn't alter the reality of what is actually true. Makes me think of exercise. You definitely don't see the immediate results when you start- but by believing you will become healthier as exercise, you will be motivated to put that belief into action. You will start exercising, believing that as you do so, you will feel healthier (it definitely doesn't feel that way at first!) As you continue to act on the belief that you will become healthy if you continue exercising, eventually your belief will become a reality- you will feel and see what was once just something you hoped for. But if you don't believe exercising will make you healthy, or that it will make any type of difference, you're not going to do it. You will find every excuse not to. Hopefully that made sense.

Anywho, I was reading in John 5 today, and was struck by the demonstration of faith from the man in the first story. Christ goes to a pool called Bethesda, rumored by the Jews to have miraculous healing properties for whoever is able to make it to the water first after being touched by an angel (no, not the T.V. show). A man, who has been sick for 38 years, is sitting by the pool, frustrated at each failed attempt at getting to the pool first. Christ comes to him and asks the simple question, "Wilt thou be made whole?" (John 5:6) I love that. Christ asks if the man wants a change in his life, allowing the man to act for himself. 

The man responds by telling Christ that he is unable to get to the water before anyone else. He's telling Christ- hey it's not that I'm not trying to get better- I don't have the ability to do it on my own. It is out of my control. Christ puts control back into this man's life, telling him, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." (8) Think about how this would feel if you were the sick man- you've been sick for 38 years! Would it seem ridiculous that some stranger is telling you to get up and carry your bed home? Would you believe it was possible? Or would you laugh it off and just tell him that was wishful thinking and be content with how things are?

I don't know if I would have believed I could be healed in that instant. That takes an incredible amount of faith to believe that after 38 years- I'd be able to just get up and walk again. And somethin so simple! Would it really work? So what enabled this man to believe that he could just simply get up and walk? It doesn't specifically say in the scriptures how he was prepared for the this moment- but I feel it could be a number of things. He could have had a strong relationship with God, causing him to believe anything is possible. He could be someone that has left room for positive thinking in his heart, despite the pain and misfortune he has experienced. He could have been someone that still may be afraid of being let down- there was a chance that he could have tried and not been able to walk, think how devastating that would have felt- but instead of allowing himself to be his own barrier, he decided, as simple as this suggestion was, to get up and walk. He didn't let his fear of being hurt or fear of failure prevent him from trying. What an amazing man.

How often are we faced with a weakness, a trial, or even just our own personal barriers and ignore the simplest counsel from God? Often, the solution is right in front of us, but because of our own beliefs and the state of our hearts, we are unable to access the healing we desire. We don't think the little things have the power to make big changes. I am guilty of that one for sure. Kinda like Naaman of the old testament- he had leprosy and asked a prophet of God what he could do to be healed, and was told to wash in the river Jordan 7 times. At first he was really angry with this counsel- but was humbled by a servant's reply, "if the prophet bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when saith he to thee, Wash and clean?" (2 Kings 5:13). Believing in the servant's words, Naaman did as the prophet directed and washed himself in the Jordan river 7 times, and because of his willingness to act on his belief, was healed.

On the other end of the spectrum, when we don't even try, nothing changes. The isrealites in the wilderness were told that if they would look at the brass serpent provided by Moses, they would be healed. Why did some perish while others were made whole?: 

"[the brazen serpent] was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever might look upon it might live...but few understood the meaning of these things...that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe it would heal them." (Alma 33: 19-20) 

It all comes down to faith. The Naaman and the crippled man from John chapter 5 were able to experience healing from God because they were willing start with believing they could be healed AND that the simple actions they were asked to do would help them get there. The Isrealites on the other hand, did not believe the serpent would heal them, so they didn't want to even try. So where are we? Do we believe in Christ's power to heal, strengthen, and help us become the best version of ourselves? Do we believe that as we do the simple things he asks of us, like reading our scriptures, praying, and personal covenant keeping, we will experience healing and be allowed to one day walk back to the presence of our Heavenly Father? If not, that's okay. Start where you are. And like Alma says, even if you have nothing more than just a desire to believe, let that desire work within you until you get to the point where belief comes naturally. 

I know anything is possible with God's help. I know He loves you and is so proud of you! I hope my study was able to help in some way- I enjoyed it immensely!

Much love,

Emily