I’ve Got to Get Up : Known by the Mat or Known by God? | Church Notes Reflection
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Category: Church Notes → Weekly Reflections
By: Max Fuega
I’ve Got to Get Up
Message Overview
Jesus meets a man known by his condition and restores him through a command that requires movement. This reflection explores identity, obedience, and the quiet resolve it takes to rise when God says, “Get up.”
Organized Notes
The Setting: Waiting by the Pool
In Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there was a pool called Bethesda, surrounded by five covered colonnades. Many who were blind, lame, or paralyzed gathered there, waiting for the stirring of the water. Healing, as they understood it, depended on timing, access, and help from others.
One man had been in this condition for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him and learned how long he had been there, He asked a direct question:
“Do you want to get well?”
The man answered honestly. He had no one to help him. Someone always got there before him.
Jesus Stops. Jesus Sees. Jesus Says.
In this passage, Jesus does three clear things.
He stops.
He sees.
He speaks.
The man is never named—only identified by his condition. Long seasons have a way of doing that. When something lasts long enough, it can quietly replace identity. The situation becomes the name. The struggle becomes the introduction.
But Jesus does not see a mat first.
He sees the man.
Jesus does not ask for an explanation.
He gives a command.
The Command That Requires Movement
Jesus says, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
The mat that once supported the man becomes his testimony. What held him no longer holds him. He is told to carry what he once lay on.
Healing happens immediately—but resistance follows just as quickly. Religious voices question the obedience. The day matters. The rule matters. The mat becomes the issue.
There will always be voices telling you that you cannot do what God told you to do.
But the man responds with clarity:
“The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
God has the final say.
Not Hype—Hope
This moment is not emotionalism.
It is the presence of God.
The giants do not disappear—but the person changes.
The season does not erase the past—but it redefines it.
God does not waste struggle.
He repurposes it.
RAW Notes
John 5:2-7 (NIV)
Jesus didn't give this man a chance not to move he told him YOUVE GOT TO GET UP!
Jesus wanted his mat to be this man's testimony to show others that what God has done for him He can do for anyone.
God will take our struggle, our problem, our issues, our rejections to be a testimony of how God can change the trajectory of our lives
When
God gets ready to move NOTHING can STOP HIM! NOBODY can stop him.
Nothing can stop God, not an IQ deficiency, not a diagnosis, not
rejection, NOTHING can stop what God is going to do!
3 Things that Jesus does in this passage :
1. JESUS STOPS
2. JESUS SEES
3. JESUS SAYS
Notice in the scripture that no one is named by name, they are named by their condition. This is mentioned in the sermon because sometimes you can go through something so long you can forget who you are. Sometimes you become your situation and lose your identity in the swirl of what you're going through instead of navigating the issue and keeping your spiritual identity in Christ. You become so consumed by the thing you won't let go of that you forget who God has created you to be.
God can say "stop" to a situation because He has ALL AUTHORITY over ALL THINGS. Jesus the name above all names.
Jesus can stop a storm in your life -
He can cancel addiction, can cancel the storms in your life, can cancel the pain in your life (physical, emotional, etc).
Don't bury your hope, your faith, or your joy.
God is a savior who also stoops--He will get in the dirt with you in your situation to bring you out of the struggle that pulls you back and holds you down relentlessly.
The giants that you're facing aren't going to be any different when you step out of the word into your life, but YOU will be different.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
Most people only saw what this man couldn't do. They associated him with the mat but God saw the MAN first.
He saw him in his storm, He saw the parts the man wouldn't even admit to himself.
God didn't look at him based on WHERE he was but WHO he was in that current moment. His possibilities. His capabilities.
God looks pass where you are and looks through to WHO you are because He KNOWS you and He LOVES you.
The one who knows you the best loves you the most. You may not always want to know the truth but they are going to tell you the truth anyway. This is true in life and this is true with God.
Pastor tells a story here about his wife who has a weird way of gifting in which the best box will have the most basic gift. A Nordstrom's box will have dollar tree gift and an old re-used box will have the most extravagant gift. He jokes that God needs to deliver her from that form of gift giving. But it made him think about how the ugliest of circumstances can produce the best things life has to offer and sometimes what looks like it is so great on the outside is a basic dud on the inside when you take away all the pretty pretend exterior.
God will package some of his best gifts in some of the ugliest boxes.
Have any of you been dealing with some ugly boxes right now?...beaten, torn, weathered, and rained on --
Open the box God has gifted you and the season you're going through... you will look at it a year from now and you'll be thanking God for this ugly box that contained a great gift. (Amen)
God
can see things you don't. You will not die in this low state. Not
physically. Not spiritually. This is just a chapter in your life; a
season. YOU'VE GOT TO GET UP. Your future children are counting on
you.
JESUS STOPS | JESUS SEES | JESUS SAYS
This is not emotionalism - this the presence of GOD -- it's not hype it is HOPE.
Say out loud : I've GOT to get up!
John 5:8-10 (NIV)
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A VOICE TELLING YOU CAN'T DO WHAT GOD TOLD YOU TO DO Remember God's voice is THE VOICE OF GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION.. REMEMBER :
JESUS STOPS | JESUS SEES | JESUS SAYS
John 5:11 (NIV)
(Impromptu song --- create your own rhythm -- God has the final say and whatever your "mat" is it won't hold you back from God's purpose for your life)
"I'm carrying the mat that I once laid on..I'm carrying the mat where I used to lay... The man over there has the final say...good-bye yesterday..."
God brought you this far to get you up-- you don't have to get up by yourself. God is with you always.
JESUS SAVES (4th impromptu point)
Top 7 Takeaways
-
Long seasons can quietly replace identity if we are not anchored in Christ.
-
Jesus sees the person before the problem.
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Healing often requires movement, not explanation.
-
What once supported you may become what you are called to carry forward.
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Obedience will always face resistance—but God’s voice outranks all others.
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Hope is steady and grounded; it does not require hype.
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God brings you this far not to leave you down, but to call you up.
Scripture List (NIV)
-
John 5:2–7
5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
-
John 5:8–10
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.
-
John 5:11
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
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Message Reflection
The man at the pool had a reason for staying where he was. His explanation made sense. His condition was real. His limitations were visible.
But Jesus did not ask for more context.
He asked for willingness.
Healing came when obedience followed instruction. Not when circumstances changed—but when the man moved.
The mat did not disappear.
Its purpose changed.
God still works this way. He interrupts stagnation, not to shame us, but to restore us. He does not minimize long seasons—but He refuses to let them define us.
When God says, “Get up,” it is not cruelty.
It is direction.
Max's Own Words
There was a season when I realized I had started introducing myself by what I was stuck in instead of who I was in Christ. I was successful on paper, stable by the world’s standards, and deeply unfulfilled. What I complained about daily had quietly become my identity. I stayed because it made sense financially, not spiritually. God was no longer first—He was something I worked around.
What woke me up was not gradual clarity. It was loss layered on loss. A relationship ended. Then the office I worked for began shutting down. The severance I had been waiting for arrived—but so did the truth. I had been lying on a mat I no longer needed. God did not just open a door; He stopped a cycle.
Being known by your condition looks like talking about the problem more than the progress. It looks like forgetting that God is still working while you wait. Guarding identity does not mean denying frustration—it means staying anchored. I may step away to feel, but I always return to gratitude, especially when I remember how much of my life exists because God already answered past prayers.
My mat, more recently, was a relationship. It began as healing and supportive, but over time alignment faded. God allowed me to feel the grief—but He did not allow me to be my own vindicator. That felt unfair. But I learned that anger delays obedience, and I do not want to arrive late to what God has prepared next.
Getting up now looks like obedience without explanation. Simplifying. Releasing. Trusting that God’s reasons unfold on His timeline, not mine.
When I say, “I’ve got to get up,” it is not desperation.
It is resolve.
Weekly Reflection Guide
Focus Theme:
Rising from identity-shaping seasons
Scripture Anchor:
John 5:8 — “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’”
Reflection Prompts:
-
What season have I allowed to define me longer than it should have?
-
What is my “mat” right now?
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Where has God already spoken, but I have delayed movement?
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What voices challenge my obedience once I decide to move?
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How has God already proven faithful in past seasons?
Weekly Practice:
Each day this week, take one small, intentional step aligned with what God last instructed you to do.
Prayer Focus:
Ask God for clarity, courage, and resolve to move when He speaks—without waiting for permission from circumstances or people.
54 Weeks Reflection Guide Series
This reflection follows the same rhythm used throughout the 54 Weeks Reflection Guide Series — Scripture first, honesty second, and obedience over performance. It’s for those who are done rushing spiritual growth and ready to return to God without pressure, hype, or pretending they’re further along than they are.
You can explore our most popular guide here.
Keep Reflecting
This reflection connects with others in the Church Notes → Weekly Reflections collection that explore obedience, identity, and spiritual alignment. Consider reading a related post on learning to discern God’s voice during long seasons of waiting.
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John 5 reflection, get up faith, Christian obedience, spiritual identity, healing testimony, faith and perseverance, weekly devotional, church notes reflection
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