SINK AND SWIM

From Despair to Victory

John 5:1–4

“After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at certain times 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.”

Bethesda means “house of mercy” or “flowing water.” In a sense, this pool can be seen as an image of the Church. Around those waters sat a great multitude of people: helpless, blind, lame, paralyzed, withered, waiting for the water to move. And today, in many churches around the world, we find a similar condition. Many believers sit in the house of God, but they are spiritually helpless, without strength, without discernment, wounded by life, withered within, and they wait for someone else to lead them into the presence of God. The multitude represents ordinary people, often powerless and without direction. To be helpless means to be unable to act effectively, to feel incapable, stuck, without strength.
To be blind means to lack perception, awareness, and spiritual discernment.
To be lame means to walk with difficulty, marked by the wounds of life.
To be withered means to no longer flourish, to lose vitality, to fade away little by little. Let us try to imagine that scene. Five porches surrounded the pool. Where there are many people, there is noise. Where there is suffering, there are groans, weeping, distractions. Around Bethesda there were sick people, suffering people, people moaning in pain. And when the water moved, not everyone could react in time. Yet those people had hope. They had faith. They hoped to be the first to enter the stirred water, because they knew that whoever entered first would be healed. Now let us look at the Church today. Why have so many people who call themselves Christians become spiritually helpless? Why can many no longer act with faith, strength, and authority? Often the answer is this: noise and distractions. There is a spiritual noise produced by false teachings, confusion, and compromise. There are distractions that lead many believers to become lukewarm, as described in Revelation 3. Then there are the currents of the world: pornography, addictions, works of the flesh, compromise, hidden sins. They are like dangerous currents that seize a person and drag them away from the shadow of the Almighty, spoken of in Psalm 91. When someone is caught by these currents, Satan tries to convince them that there is no way out. He whispers that they will not make it, that they are too weak, that they are now without hope. And every day many believe this lie. Many return to the same bondage from which the Holy Spirit had set them free. What then is the solution? To rise up and begin to move under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel 47 we find the vision of the holy waters. The man with the measuring line can be seen as an image of the Holy Spirit: He guides us, measures the path, shows us where to go, warns us of the traps of mud and mire that could ensnare us, and teaches us to swim out of the dangerous currents of life. The time has come when Christians can no longer depend on someone else to be brought into the presence of God. We must take the first step. We must enter the waters of the Holy Spirit. The river flows from the temple. The gates of the house speak of the sanctuary from which the water flows. And the Gate is Christ.

John 10:7. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” The waters that flow out represent the Holy Spirit. Every river has a beginning. Usually it starts as a small stream, something you could almost cross in one step. Salvation is the beginning of the river. The first step is in the water up to the ankles. Then, continuing to walk, the water reaches the knees. The knees speak of prayer. Jesus hears our prayers and presents them to the Father. But learning to swim requires staying in the water and going deeper. Many times, in the sea of life, I have done as Peter did: I took my eyes off Jesus and began to sink. I found myself sinking into despair, struggling to get back to the surface, gasping for air, crying out, “Why?” The storms of life can exhaust us. We can become withered, stop flourishing, dry up spiritually because we lack the living water. Sometimes you have to sink before you learn to swim. Why? Because as long as we remain in the calm waters of the environment in which we were saved, surrounded by believers who encourage and support us, we can feel strong. But when we move away from that environment, we can be easily influenced and return to old habits: addictions, compromise, bondage, sins from which we had been set free. Some come close to sinking completely. But right there, in the most difficult moment, you can hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit: Swim through the current. Reach the solid Rock. Life is made of choices. Even Saul, on the road to Damascus, had a choice to make. He was blind, until his eyes were opened and he saw the light. The multitude at the pool and Saul, who would later become the apostle Paul, had something in common: both were waiting; both had to act; both had to move by faith toward the work and anointing of the Holy Spirit. The believer’s walk is entirely a walk of faith.

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The good news is this: the moving of the waters, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is no longer confined to one place. Those who sat at the pool of Bethesda had to wait for a precise moment and hope to be the first to enter the water. But whoever has Jesus as Savior can be filled with the Living Water. They can enter into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, especially in the days in which we are living. On the day of Pentecost, those who were in the upper room were obeying the command that Jesus had given them before ascending to heaven. He told them to wait for the promise of the Father. Let us note well: it was not a simple request. It was a command.

Acts 1:4–5: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Have we changed since we saw the Light? We are living in difficult times. The waves are rising. The sea of life is stirring. The darkness is becoming bolder and bolder. Opposition against believers is growing. The times are dangerous. But spiritually speaking, once filled with the Holy Spirit, we have a choice to make. Enter the waters of anointing. Sink not into despair, but into the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. No longer helpless, but clothed with power from on high.
No longer lame, marked by the wounds of life, but transformed into strong swimmers for the Kingdom of God.
No longer withered and spiritually dry, but living children of God, refreshed every day, eager to be about the Father’s business: souls. The anointing of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God kept in our hearts make us ready at all times, in season and out of season. We are called to bring hope to a lost and dying world, proclaiming that whoever calls on the name of the Lord and believes in their heart will be saved. Acts 19:2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Luke 24:49 speaks of being clothed with power from on high. Acts 2:17–18 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy”. The midnight hour is drawing closer every day. Do not remain helpless.
Do not remain wounded.
Do not remain withered.
Do not sit beside the water waiting for someone else to move you. Rise up.
Take the first step.
Enter the river. The Gate is Christ.
The Water is the Holy Spirit.
The Rock is Jesus.
The time is now go from despair to victory.

Paul Taylor