Get up!

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’” John 5:8

Every week day morning my alarm goes off at 5:00 A.M.  signaling me, it’s time to get up and walk the dog (sometimes dogs – yes, I have three.  I know…trust me… I don’t know what we were thinking either!).  Most mornings I am already awake, but sometimes, when the radio clicks on and stirs me from my slumber, the last thing I want to do, is go for a walk. 

I lie there, shut my eyes, and debate with myself about why sleeping for 45 more minutes would be so much better than wrangling my dog away from the rabbits in the neighbors’ yards.  And then I think of this verse.  “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’” Now, I know this is taken completely out of context, but it works for me!

You see, the man was an invalid.  Jesus even asked him, “Do you want to get well?”  And he replied with the excuse – a valid one – that he had no one to help him.  That when he tried to get to the pool, others would go down ahead of him.  That’s when Jesus told him to get up and walk!

How many times do we look to others to help us achieve our goals?  How many times do we use the excuse (maybe not so valid in our cases) that there is no one to help us? 

I gotta be honest.  At 5:00 A.M. there aren’t too many other bodies up and moving around at my house to get my lazy derriere out of bed!  (Except the dog…) 

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is this.  The same spirit that rose Christ from the grave lives in us!  Jesus even says, “I tell you the truth, anyone how has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” 

Sometimes, we just have to find the courage to step out in faith.  So each morning, sometimes begrudgingly at first, I get out of bed, grab my iPod, leash up the dog and go for a walk.  I think it’s in those moments, that I most clearly hear what God is saying to me.  This time of year, the sun is still rising, and the birds are just stirring, and I can hear Him singing over me, as I admire the beauty of His work around me…and in me.

Dear Father,

Thank you for your encouragement.  Thank you for walking with me – not only in the mornings, but through each moment of my day.  I know you have prepared this day for me; help me to be obedient to your call and bring glory to your name.
Amen