Take Up Your Mat and Walk

 Have you ever felt stuck? Have you ever felt like you were going in the same cycle over and over again? You know, you felt like you were doing the same thing and not getting anywhere? Just when it looked like things were turning around in your favor and getting better, it didn't work out. As a matter of fact, it seemed like you got pushed back farther from your goals and breakthrough. You thought, "This is it. This is my time." "It's going to work out this time." But you end up being hurt, confused, disappointed, heartbroken again and again. I experienced this a lot this year (some months more than others) and maybe you did too! Today, I want to talk about a man in the Bible who could also relate with us. His story is found in John 5:1-8. At the beginning, we see there is a pool called Bethesda where people who were disabled came to sit at. The people had different conditions as some were blind, while others were paralyzed. In verse 5, we see there was one particular man who had been disabled for 38 years. Now that's a long time! Jesus saw the man and asked him a simple question: "Do you want to get well?" (v.6). Now you may be thinking that would be easy to answer: a yes, of course! But is it an easy answer? Some people may be comfortable in their situation and not want anything to change for the better, so their answer may have been no. But, we see in verse 7 that the man didn't say yes or no. His response was one of frustration (can anybody relate?!!). He said he tried to get to the pool, but no one would help him get there and others would always beat him to it. In other words, it seemed like he could never get his turn. Jesus then gave the man three instructions: get up, pick up your mat and walk (v.8). The man didn't hesitate to follow! Verse 9 tells us he did just that. Do you want to get well? What do you need to get up from? Do you want to be better today than you were yesterday? Do you want to come out of old habits, mindsets, attitudes? As we sit here near the end of 2020 and about to enter 2021 soon, we need to ask ourselves these questions. We need to get up from things not helping us. We don't have to stay in procrastination, worry, doubt, overthinking, selfishness, anxiety, desperation, fear, unhealthy relationships. The mat that the man was lying on ends up being picked up by him. The condition he had dealt with for 38 years came to an end at one Word from Jesus. This is a Word for somebody: it doesn't matter how long you've been in a certain condition, but know change can take place! A turn around can come and hope spring forth from a hopeless situation. Once we get up and pick up our mat, then it's time to walk. It's time to walk forward. Let's walk into 2021 free from what we've been lying on this year. We can get up from the old and walk into the new. We can walk into new mindsets, new relationships, new attitudes, new perspectives, new habits. So what do you say? I say, we get up, pick up our mat and walk right into 2021 ready for a brand new start!