As I sat in quiet meditation, my heart turned toward someone whom the Lord has entrusted to my care. I began to pray, asking the Lord to meet her in the very places where life has wounded her. As I prayed, the Spirit brought two passages of Scripture to mind: one about the woman at the well, and the other about the man at the pool of Bethesda.
In John 4:15–16, the woman says to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” And Jesus responds, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither.”
In John 5:5–8, Jesus meets a man who has been sick for thirty-eight years. He asks him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The man answers, “Sir, I have no man…” And then Jesus declares, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
At first glance, these stories seem unrelated, but in both of these encounters we see the same principle: before healing comes, Jesus confronts the root.
- To the woman, He goes straight to the wound of her life, her brokenness in relationships. “Go, call your husband.”
- To the man, He touches his despair and loneliness. “I have no man…”
Two different lives. Two different wounds. But both statements carry the same silent cry: “I have no husband“. “I have no one.”
In both of these moments, I see a pattern, a principle for healing and deliverance. Jesus was ready to bring wholeness, but before He released it, He touched the root of the pain.
Deliverance begins here. Jesus does not ignore the cycle. He does not cover over the pain. He goes to the root. The root of shame. The root of dysfunction. The root of hopelessness. The root of trauma. The very thing that keeps us thirsty, keeps us paralyzed, keeps us stuck in the same posture year after year.
And after He confronts the root, He equips.
- To the woman, He offered living water that would forever quench her thirst.
- To the man, He gave strength to rise and then commanded him to carry the very bed that had carried him for thirty-eight years.
- That’s the pattern of deliverance. Jesus does not just free us; He equips us. He gives us power to change posture. Power to break the cycle. Power to carry what once carried us.
When deliverance comes, everything shifts. The woman who avoided the crowd ran back into the city and declared, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.” The man who lay in weakness for decades walked out in strength, carrying the proof of his healing. Both became living testimonies equipped not only to live free but to witness boldly.
And this is still the invitation to us today. Everyone’s bed looks different. Everyone’s well is different. But the principle is the same: Jesus comes to confront the root of our bondage, to heal the wound, and to equip us with power to walk free.
Reflection Questions
- What “bed” or “well” in your life has kept you stuck in one posture?
- What truth might Jesus be confronting in you not to condemn, but to heal?
- What posture is He calling you to change so that you can rise and walk differently?
- How could your testimony of deliverance equip someone else to believe in Him?
- Who in your life is waiting to hear you say, “Come see a man…?
A Prayer for Equipping
Lord Jesus,
Thank You that You know my well, my bed, and my story. Thank You that You never turn away from my brokenness but confront it with truth. Today, I invite You to go to the root of what has carried me for so long. Equip me with strength to rise, to walk, and to carry what once carried me. Let my life testify to Your power, and let my voice boldly declare, “Come see a man who made me whole.”
Amen
Thank you pastor. Keep being a voice for God.
Thank you, Pastor, for your support.