Seeing Possibility in the midst of Difficulty

Jesus Christ met a man who had been sick for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda and he asked him, “Would you like to be well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up” – John 5:6-7 (NLT).

This man had Jesus by his side, but his mind was more focused on his difficulty. His reason was simple – ‘I & no one’ couldn’t help. Many believers also fall into this web of trusting in their abilities and in others for help despite the fact that they have Jesus residing in them always.

If you ask a believer, “Do you believe God can divide a sea?” he would probably say, “Yes! He did it for the Israelites”. If you question further, “Do you believe God can crumble a building?”, “Of course, even the walls of Jericho came down flat”, he would say. But ask him, “Do you believe God can help you out of this so called difficult situation you are going through?” He would immediately start fumbling with words. He claims to trust God for big things that are not directly attached to him, but for little challenges that come his way daily, he schemes other sources of solution.

The reason why we say a situation is difficult is because we have looked at it and compared it with our abilities and connections, and we realize they don’t match. But no matter how big any difficulty may look, placing it before Jesus, we immediately see a possibility.

Beloved, we live in an age where the ideas of philosophers are gaining more grounds and we are taught to trust in the various means by which help comes, rather than on the source of help; we are taught to rely on ourselves and connections for help, but Christianity is still saying – “From where does my help comes, my help cometh from God”.

– tope aladenusi