HOPE AGAINST HOPE (PART 2): THE WAITING SEASONS

TEXT: John 5:1-9 (NKJV)

^{[1] Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.}

^{[2] Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.}

^{[3] Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.}

^{[5] One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.}

^{[6] When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”}

^{[7] “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”}

^{[8] Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”}

^{[9] Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath.” (NKJV)}.’

When I think of seasons, I can’t help but remember the four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn. They all come with different events and characteristics that we like and dislike, but our likes and dislikes do not determine whether we would experience them or not. The four seasons would inevitably be experienced yearly: sometimes a very long winter where we pray for the spring to come quickly, other times we get tired of the rain and just want to experience the summer sun, and in no time we become weary of the heat and just want to experience something warmer. Life is made up of seasons; there are seasons of our lives where we are trying to have an identity, other seasons we are trying to learn and grow, and some other seasons we find ourselves in a place of influence and investing in others. Some seasons are full of joy, harvest, and accomplishment, while others feel slow, silent, and uncertain. These uncertain seasons are often referred to as “waiting seasons,” times that challenge more than just our patience; they also put our faith, perseverance, and trust in God’s promises to the test. In our text, we meet a man who had been sick for 38 years. That’s almost four decades of waiting, of watching others receive what he longed for. He lay near the Pool of Bethesda, a place where healing happened when an angel stirred the water, but only the first to step in was made whole.

Although this man deeply desired healing, he had neither the ability nor anyone to help him into the water quickly enough, and every time the moment came, another person went ahead of him. He had internalized defeat after so many years, and when Jesus asked the most important question to him that would change his story, his response reflected his heart posture of defeat. Jesus asked, “Do you want to be made well?” He didn’t say yes; instead, he explained why he hadn’t been healed. He saw the people and processes that made up his limitations, not the grace and mercy of God. His excuses were louder than HOPE. Our waiting seasons can tempt us to settle into hopelessness, and like the man at the pool, you may feel like life is at a standstill with no progress or breakthrough. Remember that what seems stagnant can become a door for a divine encounter: this man didn’t meet with the angel or even enter the water; he met with the Word made flesh. One encounter can do more than decades of striving and suffering because God’s timing is always perfect.

There are a few lessons I have learnt by watching my husband wait for me to get ready on Sunday mornings.

• He stays close to his notes and Bible, still learning and waiting to hear from God; in other words, still expectant. In your waiting season, you don’t sit or lie down doing nothing but wallowing in pain and tears; keep your posture of hope. Even if you feel tired, stay close to the place of expectation, like this man who stayed close to the pool.
• He is always hungry and ready for more. Never limit God to just a specific method or time frame. This man’s healing came from the WORD, not the pool.

• I see how patient he is, and it is admirable. Let your waiting season build character, not bitterness. The waiting seasons we often call delays are where God deepens your maturity, sharpens your vision, and tests your motives. Your waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. They are places of preparation, pruning, and positioning.

Romans 5:3-4 says, “And not only that, but we also glory in Tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance character, and character, hope’’(NKJV).

Finally, God is always present, but there are moments in your life when He can visit you seasonally. You cannot make God hurry through the seasons of your life that He wants you to go through, but you can prolong the season by your attitude. Our two reflective questions are these:

• In what ways is God using this season of waiting to grow my character and trust in Him? 
• Who in my life is watching how I respond in this season, and what kind of faith am I modeling for them? 

PRAYER:

Lord, please help me to trust you in the silent seasons when answers are delayed and hope seems far. Remind me that you see me, and your time is perfect. Strengthen my heart, Lord, as I wait in Jesus’ name, Amen.