Day 63

Numbers 9-10 | John 5:1-18 | Psalm 27

The man had been waiting for 38 years.

Thirty-eight years of hoping.

Thirty-eight years of disappointment.

Thirty-eight years of watching others step into the water while he remained stuck.

Then Jesus came.

And instead of helping him into the pool, instead of touching his body, instead of even acknowledging the superstition that had kept him there for so long—Jesus asked a question.

“Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6)

At first glance, it almost seems cruel. The man’s need was obvious. His suffering undeniable.

But Jesus never asks pointless questions.

And lately, I’ve been asking myself the same thing.

When Healing Feels Stalled

It’s been 17 weeks since my accident. Since the saw blade changed my life. Since I woke up in a hospital with a mangled hand and an uncertain future.

In the beginning, there was progress. I was healing. I was improving. I could see the difference week by week.

But lately?

Lately, the healing has plateaued.

I’m doing the work. The therapy. The exercises. The patience.

But my hand still doesn’t work the way it once did. And I don’t know if it ever will.

And that’s where the question Jesus asked the paralytic hits home.

Do I want to be healed?

Of course, I do. But what does healing even mean?

Does it mean full restoration? Getting back what I lost?

Or does it mean learning to accept what is instead of longing for what was?

Is healing found in the return of strength—or in the surrender of control?

When the Cloud Lifts

Numbers 9-10 tells how God led Israel through the wilderness.

A cloud covered the tabernacle, and when the cloud moved, they moved. When it stayed, they stayed.

“Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time that the cloud continued over the tabernacle… the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.” (Numbers 9:22)

They didn’t control the timing. They didn’t dictate the pace.

They simply trusted and followed.

And that’s what I’m learning to do.

Because healing—true healing—isn’t just about restored function.

It’s about restored faith.

It’s about trusting God’s timing, whether the cloud stays or lifts.

It’s about knowing that even when progress seems to have stopped, God has not.

The Greater Healing

After Jesus heals the paralytic, He finds him again later and says something unexpected:

“See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)

Jesus wasn’t just concerned with his body. He was concerned with his soul.

Because physical healing is temporary. Eternal healing is what truly matters.

And that’s the healing I need most.

More than fingers that move. More than nerves that feel. More than a return to how things used to be.

I need a heart that trusts. A faith that endures. A hope that rests in the Healer more than in the healing.

Do You Want to Be Healed?

Maybe you’re waiting too.

Maybe it’s not physical healing, but something else. A prayer that hasn’t been answered. A situation that hasn’t changed. A longing that hasn’t been fulfilled. A broken heart that hasn’t been mended. A past wound that still lingers, no matter how much time passes.

And maybe Jesus is asking you the same thing:

Do you want to be healed?

Not just fixed. Not just restored. But changed.

Because real healing doesn’t always come in the way we expect.

Sometimes, the cloud stays longer than we’d like.

Sometimes, the hand doesn’t regain full strength.

Sometimes, the pool never stirs.

But every time—He is enough.

And that is the healing that lasts.

Lord, I desperately want to be healed. But more than that, I want to trust You. When the cloud stays, when the progress pauses, when the answers don’t come—let me rest in the healing of knowing You are enough. Amen.