Right Place, Right Time


Read John 5:1-15

When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?" Vs 6

People often speak about being “in the right place at the right time” – someone gets a promotion at work, free tickets to a show, being “discovered” as a performer, or perhaps meeting a significantly influential person through whom the course of their life is changed. Others may refer to them as “divine appointments”.

The man in this story certainly had a divine appointment which changed his life. He’d had a disability for 38 years which made it necessary for him to need help in moving around. When Jesus came upon him one day he asked him an odd question. “Do you want to be made well?” It would seem obvious that he did, otherwise why would he have taken the trouble to be there. Perhaps that is why the man felt it unnecessary to answer with a “Yes of course I do!” He merely explained his problem – “I have no one to help me to the water when the healing power is there.”

I believe that this man was there hoping that some kind person would take pity on him and help him to get to the healing waters. He had taken the trouble to put himself in “the right place”. In doing that, he found himself in the place where Jesus was – the place of healing. For him it was the right place at the right time and he received the healing he had come for, his divine appointment. But it didn’t quite come in the way he had expected and hoped for it.

Not only is it important for us to put ourselves in the right place for our needs to be met, but to me, this story also points to the need for us to be aware of those we meet who need to be helped a little closer to the place of getting their needs met. We may just be their divine appointment. Jesus may want them to encounter Him through our care and concern. For this to happen we need to be speaking to people with genuine love and care. Being interested in them and gently offering help where we think it may be needed. People may sit in church and never ask to be prayed for, but if someone shows an interest in them and a genuine loving concern, they may begin to share their needs and then be open to an offer such as – “would you like me to pray with you about that?”

Let us follow Jesus’ example and be proactive in our caring, always walking in sensitivity and genuine love towards others (Romans 12:9).

Prayer: Lord God, help me to genuinely care about the needs of the people I meet, especially those whom I meet in church. May I not presume that they don’t need a helping hand. Please let me recognise divine appointments where I can make a difference. Amen