Kamp Kids Book of John StudySample

I have always loved this story. There was a man who had been an invalid for 38 years and he gives Jesus his sad story about why he can never get healing. I don’t know if these are excuses or if the man had given up on seeking healing, but I love that Jesus asks him, “Do you want to get well?” What a seemingly silly question to ask! He had been an invalid for 38 years. However, Jesus doesn’t seem to be joking with him. 

The older I get, the more I realize that some people actually don’t want to get well. They have grown accustomed to people helping them or live a certain way that they don’t really want to get better. Maybe it is fear that holds them back, or maybe laziness, but something stops them from getting the help they need. Maybe they think they are too far gone to even receive help. Maybe this poor guy believed for the first few years of his disease that he could truly get better, but as time went on he gave up hope. Hopelessness, I believe, is the most desperate and sad state of humanity. 

If you feel you are out of options and have tried everything you can think of, but feel nothing helps,  seek the TRUTH of Jesus. Often, it is our hopelessness that brings us to Him. 

Questions:

1. In what areas do you think you are beyond help? For example you might say to yourself, “I have a horrible attitude, it’s just how I am, it won’t ever change”.

2. Do you want to get well? Honestly? Are you willing to do what it takes to get well? Ask Him for help.

3. What tools or people has God given you to help you get well?