Here is the revelation that is shaping my life today- the why is not the question, it’s the what is going to happen?
John 9:1-3 NLT
[1] As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. [2] “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” [3] “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.
Observation
“Who is to blame?” When bad stuff happens we need to know who is to blame? How did this happen? Why did this happen? If we know the who, why, or how, then we can protect ourselves from this happening to us. We refuse to believe that this judgment is beyond us. We refuse to accept that we are unable in this complex, interconnected, random, broken world, where the choices of man and the interaction of evil all concoct cocktails of life that we cannot unravel in clarity of explanation. It is beyond our capacity to unpack all the “why” stories of life, and we hate it! There must be an explanation, I feel safe when I know why.
So Jesus dismisses their assumptions and attempts to lay blame, he dismisses their attempts “It was not because of his sins or his parent’s sins.” He does not answer their so why question. Jesus ignores their looking back and passion for answers to the why, and points them forward. Don’t ask why you’re asking the wrong question. Focus on what God is going to do. The why is of no consequence, the power and glory of God are ready to be displayed in all circumstances, so this is where our focus should be.
God has a redemptive plan for every person in every circumstance. If we can leave the why and our demands for understanding, and ask the question, what is God going to do, then we will be postured to see blind men see. “Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” Whatever happens in our world the power of God is there to be seen. But we must choose, we must be postured for the release of his redemptive plan. How much time do I spend on why blame, how did this happen, questioning. Sometimes I allow myself to become twisted in the anguish of the lack of explanation. Many of us when we can’t find a suitable why we even question whether God is to blame? But I’m asking the wrong question. The question is – ‘God what are you going to do to reveal your power through my life in these circumstances?” Now I’m postured as God invites me. Now I will see blind eyes see in my life.
Application
I will accept that I don’t have the capacity to answer the why, who, how come, questions of many of life’s circumstances. I will not allow my world to be shaped by this futile pursuit that is beyond me. In all circumstances, I will reposition myself from why and judgment, into what is God going to do? I will move out of the seat of judgment and sit in expectation of God releasing His redemptive plan through the circumstances I am encountering, even when they are deeply painful.
Response
Thank you that you remind me I am not God. You know all the whys, whos, and how comes, and you release me from this controlling desire to take your place. Thank you that you are always poised for blind eyes to see, for my eyes to see. Thank you that you invite me into choosing to see your healing, redemption, rescue, to see your power released in every circumstance of my life. How freeing is it to ask the right questions in the complexity of life. Thank you for showing me the right question. I am blessed.
Meditation
Meditation truth – This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.
Consider:
Am I trapped in the inescapable maze of why?
Do I need to take a new posture of expectation of the redemptive power of God being released?
JOURNEY DEEPER
