Devotionals for September 18, 2023
Missed our sermon yesterday? Go to our YouTube channel and watch it there!
READ
John 9:1-3; Job 42:1-2
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
REFLECT
In the above passages genuine suffering is depicted. It would be nice if Scripture provided an easy answer to suffering. Perhaps this is what the disciples were craving about the man born blind. If the man or his parent’s sin could be cited as the cause of his blindness then it would no longer be confusing. Have you ever found yourself doing this? When faced with news of a famous death or news report of a tragedy, do you find yourself scouring the report for answers, information which would make the death less shocking? I know I do!
Why do we do this? The same reason Job and the disciples did. Having clear-cut answers, in our minds, will decrease our suffering or make its presence in the world make sense. But the Bible does not give us an out. It explains only that God is still God, even in a suffering world. It asks us to believe that, to be sustained by it, but it does not answer our questions of “why?” Furthermore, we are asked to hope. To hope in the coming glory against which the sufferings of this world are not to be compared. This is the truest faith. To live as if that future is real, though we do not see it. Indeed, this kind of faith is a little suffering in itself, and we are called to bear it believing that we will not bear it forever.
Why do we do this? The same reason Job and the disciples did. Having clear-cut answers, in our minds, will decrease our suffering or make its presence in the world make sense. But the Bible does not give us an out. It explains only that God is still God, even in a suffering world. It asks us to believe that, to be sustained by it, but it does not answer our questions of “why?” Furthermore, we are asked to hope. To hope in the coming glory against which the sufferings of this world are not to be compared. This is the truest faith. To live as if that future is real, though we do not see it. Indeed, this kind of faith is a little suffering in itself, and we are called to bear it believing that we will not bear it forever.
APPLY
Q: What does the John 9 passage teach us about sickness?
Q: Where do you feel the need to press into the goodness and Lordship of God over suffering?
Q: How does the Bible’s treatment of suffering inform how you sit with others in their suffering?
Q: Where do you feel the need to press into the goodness and Lordship of God over suffering?
Q: How does the Bible’s treatment of suffering inform how you sit with others in their suffering?
SING
PRAY
"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."
Father God, you are the King of the universe. You hold all things in Your hands. Help us to trust You in the midst of our struggles. Amen.
Father God, you are the King of the universe. You hold all things in Your hands. Help us to trust You in the midst of our struggles. Amen.