It’s a familiar story most Christians have heard at one time or another. John 5:1-9 tells us of a man crippled for thirty eight years found lying by the pool called Bethesda. Scripture tells us whoever entered the pool first upon the troubling/stirring of the water would be made whole/healed. This particular day Jesus was traveling through Jerusalem. Knowing the man had been in this condition for a while Jesus asked, “Do you want to be made well?” The man’s immediate response consisted of the reasons he couldn’t/wouldn’t receive his healing. Jesus responds, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” I want you to do something today. I want you to concentrate on the space. I know it sounds weird, but stay with me. I want you to concentrate on that area of space between the moment the lame man received the command from Jesus and the decision to take the action. That space is pivotal.

I’ve always found it interesting he never responded to Jesus with a simple yes or no rather he began listing WHY he had not/could not be made well. It’s a perfect example of how we (I include myself) receive a word from God, perhaps a promise of blessings/healings/miracles.  We immediately began mulling it over in our minds but our minds always tend to lean toward why it can’t happen. It’s a normal response from ANY human being, myself included. Today, you are being presented with a pivotal moment. A moment you will experience in many forms throughout your life. It’s that space. That space between receiving the promise God has for you and the action you/we will choose to take. The lame man could have foregone his miracle by allowing his current reality to dictate his response. In that space of time between Christ’s command and his action he CHOSE to take up his bed and walk. He chose to believe, receive, and (literally) walk in his promise.  I don’t know your circumstance or situation today but I can ASSURE you God is speaking to you. That space will be the determining factor in YOU receiving your promise. It may not happen instantaneously and that’s okay. Some miracles don’t happen instantly but that doesn’t make them any less miraculous. In example, God waited until Sarai (later renamed Sarah) was 90 before he gave her a child.  God also chose to send Israel’s long awaited king by impregnating a virgin who was born in the lowliest of circumstances. Science tells us both of these instances are impossible.  A 90 year old woman can’t get pregnant and neither can a young girl who hasn’t had sexual relations.  The Bible is FULL of stories reminding us God specializes in making the impossible possible!  With God ALL THINGS are possible. However the key is going to lie in our daily Galations 2:20 crucifixion of our flesh.

I encourage you today stop concentrating and focusing on what’s in front of your physical eyes and start using your spiritual eyes. If He said it….He will do it……..in HIS time (yeah, we don’t like that part). In that ‘space’ of time CHOOSE to make the right decision. Choose to trust. Choose to believe. Receive and walk in your promise regardless what your situation dictates. Rather than waste time complaining why your promise or miracle CAN’T take place, choose to proclaim how much BIGGER your God is. There are times we may receive a promise that is so unbelievable we don’t see how it could possibly come true. We can choose to sit and argue with God or we can receive and walk in faith of what He’s said he was going to do. Stop complaining. Stop worrying. Stop fixating on things you can’t change. Just……….STOP! If He said it……He’ll do it!!!  It very well could be time for you to take up YOUR bed and walk!!  When the moment presents itself, capitalize on that ‘space’ by placing your trust in Him.