Harvest Daily with Greg Laurie - Oct. 19, 2006

Abundantly Above

 

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

—Jeremiah 33:3

 

John’s Gospel tells us there were many people gathered around the pool of Bethesda, waiting for the stirring of the water. “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (John 5:4).

 

Although many people were lying there waiting, Jesus went to one man and spoke to him. Notice that Jesus did not preach to everyone. Notice that He did not heal everyone. He only went to one individual. Why that was, we don’t know. Perhaps it was the utter helplessness of this man that drew Jesus to him. Perhaps it was the fact that this man had often prayed to God, not realizing, in his wildest dreams, that God Himself would personally answer and deliver Him. The Lord was going to do better than sending an angel. He was going to personally come down and heal him.

 

The Bible tells us that God is able to do abundantly above and beyond that which we could ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20). The Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, stood before that helpless man, asking him, “Do you want to be made well?” Do you want to change?

 

Sometimes we pray for something and God will say no. We think, God is turning me down. But later we look back and realize God had something better to give us, something abundantly above and beyond what we could ask for or think of.

 

This man just wanted someone to help him to the pool. But Jesus did more than just heal him physically. Jesus transformed him spiritually, and he began to walk with God. Thank God for His amazing grace.

 

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.

Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.