I can still remember it like it was this morning, being awoken with the words ringing in my spirit, “Do you want to be well?”
I knew those words. I quickly rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone to do a search for the Bible verse that contained them.
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6, NKJV)
As I sat there reading about Jesus healing the man who had been an invalid for 38 years, I knew that question was now being put to me.
I sensed that this question meant so much more than being healed from the physical symptoms that I had been struggling with for the past few years.
God was asking if I was ready to let go of the identity of being “unwell” that I had let define me for most of my life.
You see, as a young child, I had been considered “difficult,” “overly sensitive,” “too emotional.” When I was 12 and began having episodes of blacking out, brain testing revealed an abnormality and “confirmed” what I perceived my family had always thought of me: I was broken.
With my soul longing to be loved and accepted, I became determined to fix myself and have spent most of my adulthood trying to make myself “well.”
Hearing those words that morning was both a challenge and an invitation.
It was a challenge to let go of striving to be acceptable to others, to let go of the identity I had created to make sense of my life, and to let go of the definition of wellness I had been living to achieve.
It was an invitation to rest in the acceptance Christ secured for me on the cross, an invitation to discover my true identity with my Heavenly Father, and an invitation to a deeper wellness than I could ever achieve with a better diet and exercise.
God was inviting me to experience wholeness, which can only come from Him, the One who created us and loves us so much that He sent His Son to live and die for us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
And just as Christ rose again to life, God was calling me to die in this so that I might live an abundant life (John 10:10).
So I’d love to know…
What might God be challenging you to let go of that could be hindering your wellbeing with Him?
What might He be inviting you to take hold of to experience greater wholeness in Him?
If you want to share, email me at georgina@flourishingoaks.com. ✏️
Until next time, be well.
