I was reading in John 9 of the man born
blind. “‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was
born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or
his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’”
(2-3 ESV). Obviously this man and his parents were not completely
free of sin, but their sin was unrelated to his blindness. We can’t
read too much into this, but it is apparent that the brokenness of
this world is used to display God’s works. He uses all things for
His purposes (Rom. 8:28). He can use physical, mental, and emotional
brokenness, and He can even use our sinfulness in ways that will
bring Him glory.
I’m sure I’ve contributed to my own
“blindness” through the ways I’ve behaved or things I have
mistakenly believed, but the story doesn’t end there. Each piece of
my story is an opportunity for God to display His glory. Whether He
heals the brokenness or not, He gets the ultimate glory for whatever
works He does in and through me. There are parts I am fairly certain
will not be “fixed” in this lifetime, but that will just make
eternity that much better. Some things I’ve experienced in the last
few days have made me yearn even more for the day when all will be
made perfect—where people won’t misunderstand one another or say
things that are incorrect; where we won’t overreact to words or
deeds because all the old wounds will be healed; where we won’t
have anything to hide from one another; where fear will be a thing of
the past; where our bodies and minds will function perfectly as God
intends. I long for that day to come.
As I was skimming through some
Scriptures I’ve read this week, it struck me how often we take
Isaiah 40:31 out of context. “They that wait for the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with winds like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
That is an inspiring picture, but we can’t divorce it from verse
30, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall
exhausted.” In this life we are guaranteed to encounter weariness,
exhaustion, pain, and trials. The promises of verse 31 won’t truly
be fulfilled until we receive our new bodies and the earth is made
new. Even Jesus grew weary while He walked this earth.
So we are called to persevere in faith
until that final day, trusting that everything will be made clear and
God’s purposes are revealed so that He will be glorified. There are
days I don’t want to persevere, days when everything seems
pointless and hopeless. But I’m reminded, “For you have need of
endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive
what is promised” (Heb. 10:36). I imagine the man who’d been born
blind got tired of the routine of his life. The man who’d been an
invalid for 38 years (John 5) certainly had reasons for complaint. I
wonder how much the difficulties in Joseph’s life influenced the
way he manipulated his brothers (Gen. 42-44) before he revealed who
he was? (Somehow I don’t think God told Joseph, “Let’s string
them along for a while until they really appreciate your position”!)
One day “He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have
passed away” (Rev. 21:4). But until that day we endure, we wait,
and we pray for His will to be done and His glory to be revealed.
©
2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright
free from pixabay.com.
