GOD'S POWER EXHIBITED IN MAN'S WEAKNESS -- Devotional for May 27, from "Good Seeds"

They saw a man blind from birth. The disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither one, but rather that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

In the midst of suffering a thorn in his flesh that would not go away, despite the best of doctors, and the sincerest of prayers, Paul tells us what he heard God whisper to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power will be perfected in your weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). When we “let go and let God,” His grace will be sufficient for our every need, and His glory will be manifested. But what about the man born blind? Where was God when this man needed Him? His condition was so pathetic the disciples, though they could do nothing to help him, couldn’t help but say as they passed by, “What a terrible thing this is!” In their feeble attempt to make sense out of senseless suffering, they sought to lay the blame upon whomever they could, if only to protect the reputation of the one responsible for such an "act of God." The God they knew was only good, so only good could come from Him. But He was also just, so no sin could possibly get past Him, unpunished. Hence the question, “Whose sin is God dealing with by allowing this man to be born blind?” But Jesus rejected their reasoning. In fact, He lay the responsibility for this man’s infirmity right back at the feet of deity: “This is indeed the work of God,” He said. But it was a work of God still in the cocoon. Even if the man was 40 or 50 years old, he was still a babe as far as God’s work in him was concerned, for God wasn’t finished with him yet, as they all soon saw (and as the blind man soon “saw!”). Now, put yourself in his shoes: look at yourself – your weaknesses, your illnesses, your handicaps, your shameful habits. Admit it: you think these things are going to do you in, that you will continue in your misery, a victim, a loser -- and then you will die! Now, if you expect me to say you’re wrong, I won’t say it. I can’t know if your illness will indeed prove to be God’s discipline, or maybe God’s deadline. Neither can I say that God is not planning to gain great glory from your sufferings and shortcomings. But I CAN say that that should be the goal of every Christian regarding his sins and infirmities: to let them drive him to his knees in contrition, and while there, to pray with Paul, “O that Christ would be exalted in my body – that my suffering would display His power; for then I won’t care whether that power leads to my healing or my home-going. Whether I live or die, God, you get the glory!” (Philippians 1:20).