Expectations

I am intrigued by Bethesda as depicted in John 5. What was the weather like? What was the terrain? How was it about the people (blind, deaf, cripple, with cancer and any other health challenge) such that they believed so much in the power in the pool? They so badly needed a miracle and would do anything to get it. They had a great expectation. How was it that they were expecting the angel to descend? How many of us have such divine expectations today? What are you expecting to happen for you today? Is it just the daily grind, the normal, the boring; or the inexplicable? Yes, I mean something that just is not possible!

Bethesda was a place the Bible says was crowded with the lame, blind, deaf, depressed and oppressed. Just imagine seeing all these people concentrated, all watching the water, hoping it moves. And when it did move, only the quickest made it.

I cannot imagine how the people must have felt when one of them received their healing and the others knew that that was it till the next year. No more healing, no more miracle, no more wonders till the next year. They knew that they had only one shot annually. That was why they came and waited till the pool was stirred. They cleared their calendar – did they even have a calendar? They were genuinely hungry for the power of God. They were desperate.

What a glorious place Bethesda was! Jesus was walking by in Bethesda. He saw the man who had been lame for 38 years and told him to get up. I can’t imagine that it was only the crippled man that Jesus healed. He just does not walk away from our problems. He fixes our problems. He just does not heal one. Jesus’ anointing can heal an entire city. He fed 5000. He went about doing good. We can have a sky high expectation in Him. We can have an over the top faith in Him. He can heal us all by His power today.

It must be that when we come with great anticipation, Jesus can do over and beyond. Remember Mark 6:5 says And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

Unbelief is a synonym of ‘lack of expectation’. If you have faith then you will have a great expectation. Jesus cannot do much in an atmosphere with little expectation; even if He wanted to, such fruit would be minimal. However in a case like Bethesda where they all seemed to have an expectation to be healed, yes, I am pretty sure Jesus healed them all!

What is your expectation like today! Always pay attention to Mark 6:5. Can Jesus do great things in your midst without you having an expectation? If you are desperate for something then have an expectation that today is your day! And it will be so!

Linda Faith
Linda is a prolific writer. Her body of work includes inspiring poems, fictional books, and Christian living empowering books. You can find her work on www.amazon.com. Linda is also the pioneer of Joy Women, a platform she employs to inspire women all over the world to be all God has destined them to be.