Jesus Revealed Pt. 9 - Exposed!Sýnishorn

Healing of the man born blind  

Thoughts on the Passage

How do we respond when the blessings from God require a lot of humility?

 This man had spit put on the dirt and the mud put on his eyes. Remember, the dirt there was mixed with whatever the animals did and whatever else contaminated the dirt. The bottom of the shoe is considered a serious offense in this part of the world because of the dirt on it. Then he had to find his way to the pool (a difficult task for a blind man). It would have been easier to just wipe it off and forget it – instead he chose to humble himself and obey the words of Jesus.

Dealing with people after God blesses us is often more challenging than life before God’s blessing.
This man now faces questions that he could not answer. He tried to explain things that he had no answers for. He just gave his simple testimony about Jesus and the healing that came from Jesus. People were confused, demanded answers, and (we will see in the days ahead) condemned him and Jesus. Before this, the people just ignored him or treated him as someone they should feel sorry for. Now it is different. Now he must try and answer their questions.

It is still worth receiving God’s blessing.
It is worth receiving his sight. It is worth being able to declare that God has healed him. It is worth being able to go worship with God’s people in the temple (people like him were not allowed into the temple to worship). The increased attention and scrutiny is worth it just to receive the blessings of God. 

Remember that when we face problems because we follow Jesus.

Application

Walking in humility during a difficult time requires God’s grace. Take time today and thank God for blessings – even if they required us to be humbled in the eyes of other people. Our willingness to be humbled before God opens the door for amazing blessings.

Time to Pray

Father, as we look back at the blessings that You’ve released, there were many times that you required humility and humbling ourselves before You and often many people around us. It opened the door for incredible change in my life – thank you so much.

It also amazes me how great change produces such incredible controversy. God, give us a bold heart to walk faithfully when people make it difficult. In Jesus’ name, Amen.