“Do you want to get well?” was the question posed by the stranger in John 5:1-14. The question took the disabled man off guard. 38 years of his life spent not being able to walk. No hope of a cure. Of course he would love to be able to walk! But what if Jesus rephrased the question to “Do you want your entire life upended?” Upended means “set or turned on its end or upside down”. Did the man truly want his life turned upside down by Jesus?
EVERYTHING CHANGED AT A PRICE
Being upended can be both painful and glorious. Jesus upended/transformed our lives beginning with Bill’s initial hospitalization November 25th, 2025. Everything changed at a price. I find being transformed by God is both simultaneously agonizing and wonderful. It depends on which day of the week you ask me on how my emotions respond. Some days I am like Job’s wife, face turned backwards to the past, yet God yanks me forward. So glad that God chooses His best not based upon my emotional state.
HEALING IS MESSY
At this point, we realize Bill’s illness is complicated. Great variables continue to play out with the specialists. Healing is messy in many ways. Jesus apparently thought there was more to the disabled man’s healing than whether the guy’s legs worked. Jesus says (and this also may sound abrupt), “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man had spiritual disabilities in need of healing.
DECREPIT AND FRAIL
All of us carry our sin sickness inside, hidden away from prying eyes. Jesus wants to open the windows and expose me. Why can’t He just close the blinds, especially on those days where I am both decrepit and frail? I ask for more than physical healing. I am upended.
HE DRAWS ME DEEPER
I might not have the strength to get the dishes done, go to the store, or stand for extensive periods of time, but God continues to draw me into greater and deeper conversations with Him. God talks slowly to me as I am both slow and dull-witted in understanding and obeying.
NO MORE TIMID PRAYERS
No more timid tiny prayers. This is the season for banging on the gates of Heaven. Claiming victories yet to unfold in living a transformed life. I want to be transformed by God. “Transformation” means “change or renewal from a life that no longer conforms to the ways of the world to one that pleases God” (Romans 12:2) I beg God to upend me.
Are you also willing to be upended by God?
