“As he passed by, he saw …”. These first six words from John 9 have encouraged me greatly this week. The “he” is Jesus. Jesus was with his disciples and on his way to somewhere. Perhaps they were walking along quietly. My guess is they were talking with each other as they walked. But either way, they were walking. As they were walking, Jesus saw someone. His being with his disciples did not stop him from seeing, seeing someone in need. In this case it was a blind man and Jesus healed him. For the rest of the story, please read John 9.
Being blind is a hard thing. Jesus not only saw, but he healed.
There are hard things all around us too. It is a great comfort knowing that Jesus … even in the midst of all the other hard things … sees our hard things. Our son is un-employed; he needs a job. Two of my friends have prodigal sons who have not yet come home; cancer is everywhere and is no respecter of persons or age; Christmas highlighted hurt relationships. Hard things … REALLY hard things.
Earlier this week as I was pondering John 9 and praying over these hard things, I made a list of truths to help me through these hard things. It seemed like rather a simple list and so I decided to keep it for me. Then another email arrived.
The 38 year-old “healthy” daughter of one of my best friends in Colorado suffered a major stroke while exercising on the treadmill. She has been in a coma since. Joanne is not only a daughter, but also a wife and mother to two precious girls. She has an extensive ministry through the books she has authored and her blog, The Simple Wife. (over 35,000 hits in the last two days). She is also my friend. I decided to share my list.
My list helps me to know that Jesus sees these hard things. And not only does he see but he is working in and through them. My list is an answer to my question, “If I believe that suffering (hard things) is for the purpose of showing God’s glory, like it was for the blind man in John 9, what should characterize me as I live with the suffering (the hard things) around me?” Maybe my list will help you.
- In EVERYthing give thanks. I Thessalonians 5:18
- Pray without ceasing … Trust. Colossians 4:2
- Take time to ponder, be still and know. Psalm 46:10
- Get rid of my Eyore complex (poooooor me) Matthew 6:16-18
- Listen to God through His word, through wise friends, through books. Isaiah 55:1-3
- Record/journal even when I don’t get it. John 12:16
- Review what I know is true. Philippians 3:1
- Resist the devil (lies I tend to believe) and he will flee. James 4:7
- Consider Jesus and his hard things. Hebrews 12:3
- Replay the well-known. Psalm 23; Romans 8:18 and following; John 15
We all have hard things in our lives. I would be honored to walk with you and pray for you too as you walk through the hard things in your life. Please, allow me to be your friend.