Ninety One Garlic Bulbs!
The last couple years of my life I’ve had to face one hardship
after another. At many points I’ve wondered how I would make it through. It’s
hard to feel confident in the goodness of God when circumstances don’t feel
good at all.
We’re often left thinking that if we could just figure out the why, then life would make
more sense. Especially in the face of pain or suffering.
This is where we find the disciples in the ninth chapter of the
book of John — holding out the question of why.
Jesus and His disciples had come across a man who’d been blind from birth. It
was an encounter that left the disciples asking Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2b, NIV)
The disciples were looking for someone to blame for this
unfortunate situation. If they could only figure out the reason why, then this man’s hurt
would be more tolerable, they reasoned.
Being blind in Jesus’ time was often seen as a statement about
the sin in your life. So, you probably didn’t have a whole lot of help from
people. In their eyes, you were not only blind — people assumed you were a
sinner God was punishing. Jesus turned this thinking on its head when He
declared the words of our key verse to His disciples: “‘Neither this man nor his parents
sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be
displayed in him’” (John 9:3).
The reason this man was blind was so others could see the
amazing power of God. Healing his physical
blindness would lead others to spiritual
sight. It would shine a light on the One who declared He had come to be the
Light of the world.
Sadly, not all who witnessed this man’s healing were open to
Jesus’s truth. In fact, it stirred up a whole mess with the Pharisees — a group
of men whose lives prove we don’t have to be physically blind to only see
darkness.
The Pharisees knew all about the prophesied Messiah. But when
Jesus came on the scene, they couldn’t see He was the One. They knew all the
right answers, but didn’t make the right choice.
Oh, how this makes my heart pause. What do I want most? What do I need most? Answers … or Jesus?
As much as I want answers for those things that break my heart,
what I’m finding I want and need more
is spiritual sight. I want to approach a situation that might look hopeless and
see the spiritual potential. I want to read the Bible and see clearly what God
wants to say. I want to know how to react to situations in a way that honors
Christ. I’m guessing these are things you are wanting, too.
So how do we get this kind of spiritual sight? We ask God for
it. Continually. And sometimes that means surrendering our “whys” and choosing
instead to ask, “Will You
help me see You, Lord? Even in this?” He is the One who can illuminate the dark
places for us. His presence alone has the power to bring us peace in the midst
of our unanswered questions.
Today, let’s be careful not to get stuck in our whys. Let’s not
allow them to leave us blind to His presence, blind to His goodness, blind to
His power, blind to the hope we have in Him. Let’s not be like the Pharisees —
people who could physically see but were blind to the Savior standing right in
front of them.
I know this isn’t easy. Trust me. I have situations where I've
begged God to give me answers. But I’m realizing instead of answers, He's given
me Himself. A
way to come straight to Him, the One who already has it all figured out. The
One who reminds me I don’t have to have His answers to have His comfort.
