The Only Hope
Posted by Karah
PAUSE
Quickly list any places you’ve tried to find hope and healing. Ask God to help you focus on Jesus as your only hope and Healer.
“’Get up,’ Jesus told him, ‘pick up your mat and walk!’ Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk”. —John 5:8-9a
Read John 5:1-15 in your Bible. Answer these questions:
• People with all kinds of ailments came to Bethesda to be healed. This particular man had been sick for 38 years and Jesus knew the man had been there for a long time. How did this show His compassion?
• Reread verse 6. Jesus didn’t ask the many why he wasn’t well; He asked if the man wanted to get well. How does the man’s response indicate His misunderstanding of Jesus’ question? Explain.
• What was Jesus’ response to the man’s complaint (v. 7)? Write it in your own words.
• How do Jesus’ words in verse 14 give hope? Explain.
RESPOND
• The sick man trusted in a myth about the pool of Bethesda as the only possible means for healing. What “good” things are you placing your hope in, instead of Christ? Jot down a few ideas in the margin.
• What good things are you trying to do to earn God’s favor? If you haven’t accepted His unconditional forgiveness, talk to your parents, a camp counselor, or someone from your church about how to know God personally.
• What can you change this week to demonstrate a full trust in Jesus as your only source of hope and healing? List three ideas in your journal.
BEHIND THE STORY
The focus of Jesus’ ministry wasn’t just curing illnesses and difficulties, although He did heal people physically. In this situation, He sought out the man who had been sick for 38 years and had no one to help him into the pool. Instead of helping the man into the pool, Jesus ignored the pool and gave the man healing through Himself, the only true Source of hope and healing.
THE POINT
Jesus is the only source of hope and healing.
Posted in Devotions, Girls | Tagged Camp Crestridge for Girls, Reprinted from ec magazine. @ 2015 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions