Day 5: Pick Up Your Mat

When Jesus healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda, He didn't simply tell him to walk. He gave a specific instruction: "Get up, pick up your mat and walk."

The healing was God's part. Picking up the mat was the man's.

In Day 5 of The Courage to Get Up, we explore the responsibility that comes after breakthrough. Too often, we pray for change, freedom and transformation, but overlook the practical steps required to walk in what God has already done.

The mat represented the man's past. It was a reminder of where he had been, what he had endured and what God had brought him through. By carrying the mat instead of lying on it, he was making a public declaration that his season of limitation was over.

We'll explore why obedience often requires action, how faith is demonstrated through movement, and why it is not enough to receive a blessing if we are unwilling to walk in it. God's power may open the door, but we must still choose to step through it.

This study challenges us to consider what God may be asking us to pick up. What responsibility, opportunity, assignment or act of obedience have we been avoiding while waiting for God to do more?

Scripture Focus: John 5:1–15

Key Question: What has God already done in your life that now requires a response from you?

Join us as we discover that true transformation is not just about receiving God's intervention, but partnering with Him through obedience and action.

The Courage to Get Up – From Waiting to Walking. From Limitation to Freedom.

Seek. Discern. Obey.

Thank you for joining me in the Word & Prayer Room. If this study has encouraged you, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who may be seeking God's direction. Remember, God is not distant or silent. He is able to make His will known to those who sincerely seek Him. Until next time, keep listening for His voice, keep trusting His word, and keep walking by faith. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello and welcome to day five of our study series Courage to Get Up. Today we're continuing on in the provocative vein with the topic Pick Up Your Mat. Pick up your mat. We're still in verse 8 of our Anchor text taken from St. John chapter 5. And as I was studying and preparing for today's lesson, it just reminded me how powerful the word of God truly is. You see, we can take a verse of scripture and in digging deeper receive Rhema word, multiple messages, all speaking to the different parts of our lives and circumstances. The word of God is alive and it's relevant. And so it's important for us to get an appetite and a desire to understand the word of God. The Bible tells us that man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So in St. John chapter 5 and verse 8, it says, Then Jesus said to him, Get up, pick up your mat and walk. Well, I thought it'd be really good to do a recap on our journey so far. For over the last four days, we've been following the journey of the man by the pool of Bethesda, and we started at the very beginning before he even took his first step. Remember, in day one, we explored how environments shape our thinking, expectations, and beliefs. We saw how thirty-eight years beside the pool had normalized limitation, waiting, and disappointment. In day two, remember, Jesus asked that famous rhetorical question, which on the surface seemed really simple, but actually carried deep, meaningful and searching revelations beneath. He asked the man, Do you want to get well? Found in verse six of St. John chapter five. And we reflected on how long-term struggles can become part of our identity and how wanting change is not always the same as being ready for it. In day three, we went even deeper by examining the courage required to trust God's word when it appears to contradict our reality. And through the stories of both the royal official in St. John chapter four and the man at Bethesda, we saw that faith often requires us to respond before we see evidence. And in day four, we considered what happens when God changes the story that we've been living. We explored the challenge of releasing identities that have formed around limitation and embracing the person who God is calling us to become. Yet I believe that Jesus was being intentional. You see, for 38 years that mat had represented the man's old identity. It was where he lay, it was associated with waiting, disappointment, and dependence. It represented a chapter of his life that had defined him for almost four decades. Jesus could have told him to leave it behind. I mean, that's probably what most of us would have done, right? Instead, he told him to pick it up, not just to pick it up, but to carry it. By carrying the mat, the man was making a statement. He was no longer the person lying beside the pool. He was no longer waiting for change. He wasn't being defined by what was holding him back previously. Now, interestingly, the mat had not disappeared, but its meaning had changed. It no longer represented limitation, it represented freedom. It was no longer about being defeated. It sang a song of victory and overcoming. And so I believe the principle behind carrying the mat is so powerful. You know, it is my belief that when God brings us out of something, he doesn't intend for us to keep returning to it. Remember the children of Israel when they physically left Egypt, but how they spent years struggling to let go of the mindset that they had developed there. When you study their story, you'll see that whenever life became difficult, they looked back and imagined that what God had delivered them from was somehow better than where he was leading them. What about when Lot left Sodom? His wife could not stop looking back, and we see that her body had left the city, but her heart was still attached to it. The disciples left their nets when Jesus called them. They understood that they could not fully embrace the future that God had prepared for them while remaining anchored and attached to the life they had always known. And so the same principle applies to the man at Bethesda. Jesus didn't simply tell him to get up, he told him to get up, pick up the mat, and walk. There was movement, there was progress, and there was a clear decision that the pool was no longer represented in his future. And this, I think, is where the lesson becomes deeply personal. It's interesting that many people today experience a breakthrough yet continue revisiting places, minds, and identities that belong to an earlier chapter of their lives. They have physically moved forward, but emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, they keep returning to the pool. Remember, Jesus wasn't inviting the man into a temporary experience. He was inviting him into a new way of living. The Apostle Paul understood this principle, and in writing to the Philippines, he said, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth onto those things which are before. I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That was Philippians chapter 3, verses 13 to 14. Paul was not suggesting that he had erased his past from memory. I think he remembered it very well. What he refused to do was to allow it to dictate the direction of his future, and this is exactly what Jesus was teaching the man at Bethesda. The principle of courage to get up, therefore, is not simply getting up, but staying up. Then I believe it's choosing every day to continue walking in the freedom that God has given us. It's about refusing to return to old habits and old identities when God has given us new ones. It's refusing to revisit old mindsets when God has renewed our thinking. It's acting on the courage of our conviction, knowing that we have a testimony and have experienced the power of God's transformative power in our lives. It's living consistently with the change that God has already begun in our life. I think there's also another challenge worth raising here. When God changes our story, not everyone updates their view of us. Some people continue relating to us according to a version of ourselves that God has already moved us beyond. The people around the pool had known this man for years, and so even after he got up and walked away, there may still be some that would see him as the disabled man, the man who had laid by the pool for many years, the man that couldn't catch a break, the man who could not walk. They would have missed the fact that Jesus had changed his story. Now, the reality is that some people may continue to define you by your past long after God has transformed your future. They may remember your failures, your mistakes, your struggles, or your weaknesses. They may continue speaking to a version of you that no longer exists. This is why carrying the mat matters. The fact that the man was carrying the mat rather than lying on it was evidence that his past was behind him. He didn't need to convince anyone that he had changed. The evidence was visible. You see, the mat was no longer carrying him, he was carrying the mat. And the same is true for us. Our responsibility is not to spend our lives trying to prove ourselves to people. Our responsibility is to keep walking in the reality of what God has done and will continue to do in our walk with Him. Because the courage to get up is one part of the journey, but the daily decision to stay up is the other. Number one, the courage to get up includes the courage to stay up. I'm going to repeat that again. The courage to get up includes the courage to stay up. Number two, God calls us to move forward rather than return to old places, old mindsets, and old identities. Number three, your past may be part of your history, but it no longer has the right to define your future. Ah, that's a declaration that I'm going to declare and I'm going to make it personal. My past may be part of my history, but it no longer has the right to define my future. Amen. Amen. So let's look at some applications, and you may have noticed that throughout this series so far, we've been suggesting a number of topics that you could choose to discuss with a trusted friend, mentor, prayer partner, or mature believer. Now, just as a reminder, in day one, we invited you to reflect on the environments that may be shaping your thinking, expectations, and beliefs. And the purpose of that was to help you identify influences that may have become so familiar that you no longer recognize their impact on your life. In day two, we challenged you to consider whether there were areas where you genuinely wanted to change, but where fear, disappointment, or what we call faith shame might be preventing you from fully embracing it. The purpose was to bring hidden struggles into the light where healing can begin. In day three, we encouraged you to share an idea where you sensed God may be speaking, but where uncertainty, doubt, or fear was making it difficult to take the next step. The purpose was to seek wisdom, discernment, and prayer support as you respond to God's healing. And in day four, we explored identities that may have been formed around past struggles, disappointments, or limitations. The purpose was to help you see yourself through God's eyes rather than through the lens of your circumstances. As I said before, one of the reasons we've repeatedly encouraging these conversations is because transformation rarely happens in isolation. God often uses trusted people to provide perspective, encouragement, wisdom, and prayer support. Sometimes they can see things that we can't see ourselves. There's also another important benefit. Inviting someone to walk alongside you creates accountability. Now, accountability is not about judgment or criticism, it's about having someone who can help keep you honest about the commitments you're making, remind you of what God has shown you, encourage you when you feel discouraged, and challenge you when you're tempted to drift back into old patterns. So today's application invites you to reflect on an area of your life where God has brought change, growth, or freedom. Ask yourself whether there are still habits, thought patterns, relationships or environments that are making it easy to return to an old version of yourself. Share this with your trusted partner and discuss what practical steps will help you continue moving forward. Ask them to pray with you specifically about maintaining the progress God has already begun in your life. That is the carrying of the mat instead of returning to lie down on it. Invite them to become a source of encouragement and accountability as you continue your journey. I mean, after all, remember, the courage to get up is not simply getting up, it's staying up. So before we pray, let's take a few moments to thank God for the truth of Philippians chapter three, where the Apostle Paul reminds us about forgetting the things which are behind us, and instead we should press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. Thank him that your past doesn't have the final word. Thank him for every step of growth, healing, and transformation he has brought about in your life. Thank him that he has given you the strength not only to get up, but also to keep moving forward. And thank him that he sees who you are and who you are becoming and not simply who you used to be. Amen. Just take some time just to thank the Lord. Hallelujah. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, how we praise your great name. From generation to generation, you remain the same. Thank you that you love us with an everlasting love, a love that reaches us regardless of where we find ourselves today. Thank you for your word that reassures us in Psalm 139 and verse 8 that even if we make our bed in hell, you're still there with us. Thank you that there is no situation so low, no circumstance so deep, no season so dark, no incident so painful that your presence cannot reach us. We thank you for the revelation of your word revealed through today's study. Thank you for every area of our lives where you've brought freedom, healing, and transformation. Thank you that our past does not define us and that our future is secure in you. Father, help us to walk confidently in what you have done and not return to the places, mindsets, or habits you have called us to leave behind. Give us the courage to stay up, to keep moving forward, and to live consistently with the work you're doing in our lives. Teach us to focus on what lies ahead rather than becoming trapped by what lies behind. Teach us to focus on what lies ahead rather than becoming trapped by what lies behind. Help us, like the Apostle Paul, to forget those things which are behind and to press forward towards all that you have prepared for us. Father, may our lives reflect the reality of your transforming power and the freedom that you've given us in Christ Jesus. May we walk each day in the confidence that you're not finished with us yet. We're still working progress, and that the best of our journey is still to come. Father, we thank you that you hear us when we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I hope that you've really enjoyed today's study and that you've been able to think about your trusted partner, you've been able to reflect on the areas that you want to focus on, and that more than anything else, you're getting closer to Christ and closer to his will for what lies ahead in your future. Looking forward to seeing you in day six. God bless you.