Jesus asked an impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, "Wilt thou be made whole" (John 5:6). In modern day vernacular Jesus was asking, "Do you want to get well?"

It is common to hear about some seriously ill person giving up the will to live. Doctors in St. Louis had a peculiar patient. The man could get well if he wanted to, but he showed no interest in cooperating with the specialists for his own improvement. Psychiatrists reached the conclusion that he preferred his lot.

Usually when one has a physical disease he is anxious to be made whole, but the truth is that a malignancy is eating away at the souls of men and not everyone wishes to rid themselves of this loathsome disease. Therefore let us make spiritual application of this question, "Wilt thou be made whole?"

Personal Desire Important

The importance of one's personal desires must not be ignored. Many wonder if they could really be the kind of person that God would have them to be. The real concern is "Do I desire to be the kind of person God would have me to be?" Paul spoke of the "earnest . . . yea, what vehement desire" the Corinthians had in carrying out the instructions concerning their personal problems which he had addressed in his first letter to the Corinthians. (2 Corinthians 7:7-11.) Their desire for spiritual wholeness enabled them to overcome their spiritual ailments.

David longed to be the kind of person God wanted him to be. David was a man after God's own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14.) After David's adultery with Bathseba he prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). David cried out, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee: my flesh longeth for thee in a fry and thirsty land, where no water is." (Psalm 63:1.) David desired spiritual healing.

Jesus said, "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled." (Luke 6:21.) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7,8.)

Spiritual healing is not dependent upon a man's background, or his circumstances, but it is what is inside each of us that count. It is not what lies behind us; it is not what lies before us, but it is what lies within us that really counts. Do we want to get well?

God Is Willing To Give You The Desire

God is willing to increase our desire for spiritual wholeness. God spoke to Jeremiah concerning the captives in Babylon, "And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7.) "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will. . ." (Revelation 17:17.) Paul said, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13.) One's constant prayer to God should be: "Dear Lord, help me to want to be the kind of person you would have me to be."

The chorus of a beautiful old song says: "His power can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free." God gives us power to overcome sin in our lives. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12.) God has given us power to come to Christ; power to become disciples of Christ; power to overcome through Christ.

God can make the weakest stand. Paul said, " . . . God is able to make [weak] him stand." (Romans 14:14.) "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10.) "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31.) We can become "more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37).

Our constant prayer should be: "Dear Lord, help me to want to be the kind of person you would have me to be; give me the strength to be the kind of person you would have me to be."

Conclusion

Long ago the king of Israel said, "Know ye not that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?" (1 Kings 22:3.) Likewise spiritual healing is ours today, but we are still and take it not!

"Wilt thou be made whole?" The power to make it happen is yours!!

It Is A Reality For The Child of God

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:27-30.)