As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:1-3
Trials. No one likes to go through them but everyone does. Some are big and some are itty bitty. Most of them are uncomfortable to some degree and have the ability to drive our emotions all over the board. Sometimes we blame others, sometimes we get angry at God and sometimes we get so caught up in figuring out why the trial happened that we'll work ourselves out of faith.
In the passage above, the disciples were looking for an excuse - a reason why someone would be born blind. Sure someone sinned. God must be waiting upstairs for someone to sin so He can throw some punishment (trial) his way. But that's not who God is. He's not waiting for us to sin. Instead, He's hoping we won't sin.
But we always want a reason don't we? It's appropriate to look at each trial on its own. It's probably fair to say that many of life's trials are things we inadvertently cause ourselves to go through (by bad decisions for example). But many of our trials happen simply because we live in a fallen world. Either way, Jesus goes on to explain how God's glory will be displayed in this man's life through his trial. We always have the opportunity through our trials to see God work. The question is - are we willing to let Him?
Encouragement for the week: Remember sometimes trials are just the consequences we face either from our own bad decisions or the sin of mankind. God is not punishing us. But He sees what we're going through and whenever the time is right, He will move in such a way where His presence is unmistakable. We (and our pain) have the privilege of being a vessel through which His glory will shine.
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