Don’t Let Your Struggle Become Your Identity -1

There was a certain man there who had suffered from a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.
 
When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?] (John 5:5-6 Amplified)
 
The man clearly is not well for a long, long time and for Jesus to ask this poor man, “Do you want to become well?” That’s quite an intriguing question. I believe this is also the Lord’s question to you even as you read this message: “Do you really want to become well?”
 
Allow me to explain! Do you know there are people who really don’t want to get well? Pastor Michael, are you serious? Yes! You heard that right. There are many people who don’t want to get well.
 
Now, this is not to condemn anyone but to correct and help. There is nothing wrong with sharing your problems with someone you trust or look up to. However, there are people who love to talk about their problems with anyone and everyone. Some even go to the extent of sharing their problems on social media. This is not healthy as there are people who could use this information to manipulate you emotionally.
 
It has been proven medically. (I am not saying this) For some people gaining sympathy is a way of seeking attention. Some people need excessive attention, and they get it by behaving inappropriately. Some seek out sympathy by always having something to complain about.
 
Please do not get offended. A good surgeon will cut before he can stitch. Do you really want to get well, or do you just want to talk about your problem?
 
Ruth Chapter 1 tells us of a woman called Naomi. During a famine, they relocated to Moab. While they are in Moab, far away from home, her husband and her two sons died. She must have been totally devastated. Her whole world must have come crashing down. Later, while in Moab, she hears how God has visited His people, and she, along with her daughter-in-law Ruth, returns home to Bethlehem.
 
So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred about them, and said, Is this Naomi?
 
And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty, has dealt very bitterly with me.
 
I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? (Ruth 1:19-21)
 
Naomi turned and was headed in the right direction. However, she was totally broken on the inside. Having lost her husband, her two sons, she was carrying deep wounds. She told the people not to call her Naomi (which meant pleasant) but rather call her Marah (meaning bitter)
 
Can I tell you something? Don’t allow your struggle to become your identity. Don’t allow your problem to name you. Don’t let your struggles force you to change your identity. Naomi was allowing her struggle and pain to name her.
 
You may be struggling with drinking, but don’t call yourself a drunkard. You might have made mistakes in your relationships, but don’t call yourself a failure. You must have lost your job or maybe going through some challenges, but you are not a 'good for nothing'. You are what God says you are.

I am what God says I am. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus; all old things have passed away. All things have become new. I am what the Word says I am. In Jesus’ name. Amen.