Left Behind ... by Ama Afriyie-Jenkins

“As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.” (Micah 7:7 NLT)

God promises us that in all things we are more than conquerors, but sometimes it is painful to sit on life’s fence and watch others achieve things we are still struggling with. When we measure up our lives against theirs, we are lagging. But God has a different agenda for everyone and holds the times and seasons of life in His hands. How long have you been waiting for your season of manifestation? It must have been hard watching others get their breakthroughs while your life is in a rut.

God’s miracles often have the most unexpected timing. There is significant healing recorded in John 5 at the pool of Bethesda. During one of the busiest times in the year, Jesus went up to Jerusalem to attend a Jewish festival. Duty was calling, so He left the feast and went to Bethesda, which means house of mercy. No one would have expected Jesus to show up at the Sheep Gate unannounced, while there was an ongoing Jewish festival on the other side. The timing was off. It was the Sabbath day and the crowds of sick people were lying on the porches forgotten, but the Saviour of the world left everything to come to the aid of a man who had been living with a disability for 38 years. This man had done everything in his power to get into the healing pool, but each time, his effort proved futile!

Season after season, all he did was wait and watch on painfully as others got ahead of him. The question of, “when will my time come,” never for once left his thoughts. Ironically, here he was, lying at the house of mercy, and yet he received no healing. Each time the angel stirred the waters, his faith also stirred up momentarily but quickly came crumbling down. He was never in time for the miracle. This repetitive cycle lasted for 38 years. The same thing happens with us, too. In our place of waiting, new opportunities arise and our faith gets stirred up again. We try again, anticipating that, this time around everything will work. Sadly, we only end up having our high hopes dashed again and we bear the agony of watching the opportunity bypass us and go to another person. Some of us have been in this heart-wrenching cycle for so many years.

Let’s recap the interesting conversation they had. When Jesus saw him, He asked, “Do you truly long to be well?” Wait a minute! “That sounded surreal! Help has finally come!” He thought. But instead of answering straight away, the sick man lamented, “I have no one to help me.” He didn’t even realize he was speaking to Jesus, the great physician, and mighty healer. He had a point though. Truly everyone had deserted him, including his family. They were all tired of waiting in vain, so they left him to his ill fate. The crowds of sick people were discouraging, and none of them believed he could ever get healed. Many times, our family and friends abandon us in the middle of our crisis, too. There’s an overwhelming sense of hopelessness when the people we lean on the most also give up on us in our lowest seasons. But not with God- He delights in those forgotten to show forth His glory!

God had a totally different plan for his life, but all the sick man thought he needed was a helper to aid him into the pool. Can we blame him? That was the only miracle he knew and witnessed firsthand. Don’t we feel that way sometimes? We see others fulfill their dreams easily and we attribute it to the fact that they had destiny helpers. People who held their hands and helped them get the contract, ministry, job, money, marriage, and school, but as for us, when we lift our eyes, where does our help come from? But then I realize that our true help and protection is only from the Lord, our Creator who made the heavens and the earth (Psalms 121:2). No matter what we have been conditioned to believe, this should be our conviction—God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Jesus, the showstopper and protocol breaker, had come to Bethesda, not for anyone else but for a deserted man, no one deemed worthy to help for 38 years. All his effort trying to enter the pool was finally rewarded publicly. At the least expected time, a historical and mind-blowing miracle took place. The Jewish leaders were fuming. Jesus had come to defy the law they were accustomed to by performing an unconventional miracle for an overlooked man on the Sabbath. Never put God in a box. His ways cannot be predetermined or calculated.

“Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there!” (Psalms 77:19 NLT). He has ways we cannot even think of and He will perform an unconventional miracle for you too when you least expect it!

Many of us can put ourselves in this sick man’s shoes. We have fixed our attention on how others are bypassing us and receiving their miracles. If only we will turn our eyes and look unto Jesus, we will also hear “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” God doesn’t miss a thing! Out of the crowd of over 7 billion people in the world, He sees your tears amidst the struggle. He sees your determination, which yields little results. He sees your loneliness and helplessness and He will come down specifically for you because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Ama Afriyie-Jenkins

Ama Afriyie-Jenkins remembers loving to write from an early age, and she is a voracious reader. She and her husband live in Accra, Ghana with their children and they shepherd a non-denominational Christian fellowship, Inspirational Hour Ministries. She is a lover of languages and has a heart for gender and development economics in Ghana.

You can connect with her via email: ammajenkins@gmail.com on Facebook and LinkedIn (@Ama Afriyie-Jenkins).