Divine Purposes

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

We human beings have a favorite question, and it can be summed up in one word: WHY? Parents get it from their children all the time - I’m not exaggerating! “Why is grass green?” “Why do I have to eat broccoli?” We adults aren’t much different, but our question are more complicated. “Why is my world falling apart?” “Why is God letting this happen to me?”

We all want to know “why” especially in tough times, and so we set out in search of answers. Be careful when you do this. We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world, and our limited minds may lead us to wrong conclusions. I heard this one just a couple of days ago: “I must have done something really bad to make God this upset with me.” In other words, “I did something wrong and now God is dishing out retribution.”

If you are a Christ follower, this way of thinking presents at least two problems:

It presumes you have God figured out.

It minimizes or completely ignores God’s merciful love.

One day, Jesus and His disciples met a blind man. The disciples assumed his blindness was the result of sin and asked Jesus who the culprit was, the man himself, or his parents. Jesus said the most interesting thing, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” [John 9:3]. 

There was a divine purpose in this man’s blindness. As I said before, we are fallen creatures. As such, it’s difficult for us to fathom divine purposes, especially in difficulty. We simply look for solutions. But more importantly than his physical healing, we read a little later in the story that the formerly blind man came to see Jesus as his Savior. God was at work for this man’s eternal good, even, and especially, in hardship.

As I write this eDevotion, I’m convinced that the Lord wants to remind you about this important matter. Have you been asking God, “Why are you letting all this happen to me? Why are You punishing me?” Learn the lesson from the blind man. He is not! All your sins have been punished on the cross. Your sins are forgiven when you put your full confidence in Christ alone. You are a Christ follower now, and God has divine purposes in your life that you can’t always see.

Keep moving forward and upward. Ask God to help you boldly face your doubts and despair. Trust His divine work in and through your hardship. Rest assured that His purposes are always for your eternal good … and His glory!

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  John 9:1-3