The Journey 13: Transformed Living

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Theme: Transformation in the life of sick and suffering
READ: John 5: 1-8
On Friday’s we meditate on how we can bring transformation in the life of the sick and suffering.
           Some of the battles in life are lost even before battle has begun. This is because of the attitude who enters into battle. They enter into battle with hopelessness and with the firm conviction that no matter what happens they are going to loose. I think this is true in life also. There are many people today who go through various crisis and problems in life. But unknowingly they cannot overcome the crisis and problems in life because they themselves do not have faith in God nor in themselves that, whatever be the circumstances of life, God gives us hope.
In the bible portion that we read today for our  meditation we find an incident of man who is experiencing  the worst in life. A man who is sick, but the agonizing part, sick for about thirty eight years, having no hope in life. Every day in his life is another day of pain and hopelessness. This could be understood in the words of the sick man who tells Jesus Christ that he has no one to help him to be put in the pool, when the water is stirred so that he could get healing. Moreover his hope is shattered further, because by the time he reaches the pool, someone else steps ahead of him [John 5: 7]. I think this might have gone for a number of year and of late for the past years, the sick man would have been lying near the pool, with this feeling that never in his life will he ever experience healing if he lets the process of healing continues in this manner. It is in this context that Jesus brings transformation in the life of the man who is sick but more than that lost all hopes in life. That is why Jesus is asking the question “Do you want to be healed? [ John 5:6]. Here is Jesus telling the sick man that you need to first have a conviction and faith that God can heal you and when that conviction is there is a process of empowerment. I believe it only when we empower ourselves by God, do we experience grace and healing.  Hope and healing begins , with the conviction that all is not lost, even in the most hopeless case I can fight and move on because of God’s presence with me in that particular experience. In [Isaiah 40: 29], God gives us the promise that “He gives the power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless”. This is the  ministry that we need to do and also remember that we too need to have the same belief system in our life.
Do you feel hopeless at times. Get connected with God sot that we could be empowered and also in the process empower and bring transformation in the life of others.

Let us Pray: God there are times in life, where we feel we are all alone and that life has no meaning. Thank you Lord for the process of empowerment that you do in our life, through which we experience healing and also being able to bring transformation in the life of others. Amen

One Year Bible Reading Plan
 Genesis 24-26; Mathew 19-21; Psalms 24-26; Proverbs 16-17

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