DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL
Awareness is not the same as surrender.
I came across this image on CartoonStock and it stopped me.
A man leaning forward, head buried in his hands — the kind of posture that usually shows up when life has gotten heavier than expected.
I’ve sat like that before. Quiet. Processing. Trying to make sense of things. How about you?
DEDICATION
To Jesus —
who asks questions that expose what we avoid.
To my wife —
who has never confused sympathy with truth.
To the men who chose recovery instead of excuse.
And to you, the reader —
if you are standing at a moment where help is visible.
A WORD BEFORE YOU READ
This isn’t about addiction.
It’s about willingness.
THE HOOK
It was my first domestic violence call.
High risk. Repeat address.
The kind deputies are warned about early.
Training explains procedure.
It does not prepare you for reality.
The husband was an alcoholic.
Every prior call had ended the same way.
He admitted he needed help.
He said he knew he had a problem.
He did not want it.
THE STORY
When I arrived, he was lying on the ground.
White T-shirt.
Light khaki pants.
Unresponsive.
At first glance, it looked like someone had taken a red marker and dotted his body with hundreds of tiny stars.
It wasn’t ink.
It was blood.
The weapon was a Phillips-head screwdriver.
His wife had stabbed him repeatedly.
Hundreds of puncture wounds.
She was seated calmly in a chair.
Holding a red push-button wall phone.
No hysteria. No chaos.
Just stillness.
As if something long delayed had finally collapsed.
I asked her why.
She said he wouldn’t run the vacuum the way he was told to.
Despite the number of wounds, none struck a vital organ.
He survived.
Months later, I learned the outcome.
He went to rehab.
She went to jail.
Two lives permanently altered.
And one truth burned into me:
Addiction does not stay contained.
It spills.
THE TURN
Help does not heal unless it is wanted.
THE CONVERGENCE
Years later, I read these words:
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’”
— John 5:6 (NKJV)
The Pool of Bethesda was crowded with the sick.
Thirty-eight years that man lay on a mat.
Waiting.
Blaming timing.
Blaming competition.
Blaming circumstance.
Jesus did not discuss theology.
He asked a question.
Do you want to be made well?
Not can I heal you.
Not do you believe in healing.
Do you want it?
Because awareness is not repentance.
Admission is not surrender.
And sympathy is not transformation.
The man on the mat.
The man on the pavement.
Different locations.
Same question.
MY REFLECTION
I learned early that environments shape people —
but they do not excuse them.
I saw what substance abuse does.
What anger does.
What entitlement does.
What unrestrained appetite does.
I also saw what happens when a man says:
“I know I need help.”
But refuses the next step.
God does not negotiate with the mat.
He commands movement.
There were seasons in my own life where I prayed for relief…
while resisting obedience.
Where I wanted God to change the outcome
without changing my posture.
That question still echoes:
Do you want to be made well?
Because if ignored long enough,
HELP stops being a plea —
and becomes a consequence.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Have you mistaken awareness for surrender?
Where is the mat you refuse to leave?
When Jesus asks the question — how are you answering?
MY PRAYER FOR THE READER
Heavenly Father,
Do not let me confuse knowing with obeying.
Guard me from agreement without action.
When You expose what must change,
give me courage to rise.
Not slowly.
Not partially.
But fully.
I do not want relief without transformation.
I want to be made well.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’”
— John 5:6 (NKJV)
About G~
G~ writes from lived experience — exploring identity, authority, and time through the lens of faith, trial, leadership, and surrender.
His reflections are not meant to condemn or hype, but to steady.
Rooted in covenant, forged through adversity, and anchored under the authority of Jesus Christ, his work invites readers to examine who governs their lives — and to live intentionally under truth.
If what you’ve read resonates with your journey, feel free to reach out.
G~
Absolutely, yes — but you have to be willing to face what’s waiting on the other side of “through.” Thanks, BK~
“Where there is a will, there is a way” sometimes the will is so Beaten down it’s hard to find that last bit of strength to climb out. Sometimes one is waiting to be rescued. Sometimes one finds Jesus in that very pit, and see’s the possibilities. Most pray when life seems hopeless, and in those times there might be salvation, which gives some purpose to a life, and one can move forward with new understanding. The other side of “through” is an unknown scary place which takes courage to walk, and time. It’s not an immediate resolve, which in itself makes it difficult to start. “This too shall pass” with time, you have moved forward or you stayed, either way the same amount of time has passed.