In that massive sea of human weakness and personal suffering was a
man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. The King James Version
translates John 5:6 as "He had been now a long time in that case. The
New American Standard says "He had been there a long time".The New
International Version says "When Jesus saw him lying there and
learned that he had been in this condition for a long time". For
thirty eight years he had been sick.
I'm not sure this text says that he had been around that pool for
thirty eight years, but it does say he had been in that condition for
thirty-eight years. Never forget that your physical condition and
your mental attitude live so close to each other that they catch each
other's diseases. This man had been physically infirmed (weak,
feeble and sickly) for so long that his mental attitude had also
become negatively impaired.
Adversity knows your address. Adversity knows your zip
code. Adversity knows your telephone number. Adversity knows your
cell phone number. Adversity knows your beeper number and your e-mail
address. Adversity shows up as setbacks, hardships, disappointments,
obstacles, heartaches, burdens to bear, and crosses to carry.
All of us at one time or another has a reason to complain, to
express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction or resentment. You don't
know how blessed you are, until you compare your setbacks to the
setbacks of others.
Complain, get angry, cuss and swear, express feelings of pain,
dissatisfaction or resentment. You can RESIGN. You can accept
things as they are, rather than focusing on what things can become.
To resign means to submit to something, accept something without
complaining, to give up. You can REJOICE. Rejoice that your
situation is not worst than it is. Rejoice that you have discovered a
way that won't work. Rejoice that you don't have to go through what
you are going through by yourself. You can RE-AJUST. You can do
what you have to do to keep going.
It bears being said again. What happens to you is not nearly as
important as how you respond to it. You can whine or you can win. You
can cry or you can try. You can be setback by your setback or you can
use your setback as a set up for a come back.
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