Daily Verse: John 9:3

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

 

The words above were spoken by Jesus as he and his disciples were approaching a man that had been blind from birth. The disciples assumed that this man’s blindness was a result of some kind of sin committed by either the man or the man’s parents. But Jesus shines a different light on why this man is blind…he stated that this man was blind so that the very work of God could be seen in this man’s life…that somehow God was going to take this man’s lack of sight as a tool for doing His will. Then Jesus spit in the dirt and made some mud that he put on the man’s eyes and instructed the man to then go wash the mud off in a local pool. The man did as he was told and was miraculously given sight (John 9:6-7). A man that had known nothing other than blindness for his entire life can suddenly see…and he told those around him (people that had always known him as a blind man) that it was the very hands of Jesus Christ that brought him sight! And there you have it…the miraculous works of God through Jesus Christ are revealed to others through this man being healed! Had this man not been blind from birth, he would not be there standing as a testament to the miraculous work of our Lord.  In our lives today, we see the challenges, hardships, and struggles only as negative aspects of life…things that we must somehow avoid, resolve, or conquer. But perhaps there is a deeper reason for our struggles…perhaps we have difficulties in life because God wants to use them to further his work. Maybe we struggle with a stubbornly persistent health challenge…we may see it as a nagging burden that we need to cast aside at all costs… but maybe it’s something that God is using for his work. Perhaps it’s God’s plan that through our discomfort, he is going to reach others…perhaps we are to be the hands and feet of Christ, reaching out to others that may be in pain as well…helping them see that there is a Great Healer that cares for them in their time of struggle.  Or maybe a loss of employment that only we see as a giant anchor around our neck is God’s way of introducing humility into our lives and opening our eyes to the mountains of other blessings that were once overlooked.  What we see as a negative, God can make into a positive…what we see as useless, lacking value, or just downright ridiculous, God may see as an avenue to do his will. May we find hope today in knowing that the battles and hardships in our lives may simply be in place as an avenue for the great works of our incredible Father. What a privilege we have in serving the Lord! To God be the glory!