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“Jesus answered them, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3

I absolutely love chapter 9 of John’s gospel. It is my salvation chapter—the first time I truly heard the gospel (even after hardly ever missing Mass for 30 years). The event of Jesus healing the blind man is profoundly beautiful. It speaks to the life (and eternity) transformation of faith in Jesus. We were blind and now we see! Dead, now alive in Christ! When questioned by the Pharisees, the transformed man didn’t have all the answers. He was not a seasoned apologist or theologian. He only knew that through Jesus his eyes were opened. (He did get bolder the more he was pressed, which is pretty cool.) For this man, though, it was after his healing and pressing that Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of Man—and he believed, surrendering to Jesus as Lord. We also see how his transformation affected his neighbors and parents. Just like our own salvation and sanctification is a testimony to those who knew us before Jesus…some will want what we have, some will plead ignorance and refuse to celebrate the positive changes.

But it is verse 3 in this chapter that burst off the page for me upon my most recent reading. When Jesus and His disciples initially walked by the blind man, His followers asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered them, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Now, before moving on, it’s imperative to state that the Bible is clear that there are indeed consequences to our sin (Psalm 38:3; John 5:14; Galatians 6:7-8…and most of the OT!). We also must be aware that the enemy of ours—Satan—is relentlessly trying to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8) the image-bearers of God (keeping the unsaved from surrendering to Him as Lord and keeping His followers ineffective for the Kingdom). Oh, but there is another—unreasonable—reason for suffering given in verse 3 that can be hard to get our minds around: God’s glory.

When we or a loved one (or anyone around the world impacted by this fallen world and sinful people) is struggling, we rightly cry out to God like King David, “Why, oh Lord?” and “How long, oh Lord?” And, like David, sometimes we can totally see the connection to sin…and then, there are times, like with our brother Job, that we simply don’t “get” it. Here in John, Jesus is saying, “Beloved, My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, My ways higher than yours (Isaiah 55:8-9)…this is purposeful to My glory—and You may never see it until you are glorified with Me” (Psalm 115:3; Psalm 131:1; Job).

Oh, sweet friend, what joy it is to wrap our small minds around this concept—a concept that can truly only be grasped through the Holy Spirit living in us. (Ever try to share with an unbeliever that a particular suffering could be for God’s ultimate glory alone? The typical response is something to the effect of, “Well, that’s not a God that I want to believe in”—I know we’ve all heard it.) But we must rest in this truth! If we are continuing in a sinful pattern that is reaping consequences, we must turn (repent) and follow after the Lord’s ways. But if our suffering has no human rhyme or reason, we must trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). We can question God—of course! We can cry out to Him in our frustration and anger—He knows it already and wants to hear it from our own mouths! And then, we trust. We trust that God is Sovereign and Providential. Everything He does—everything—is for His glory…and ultimately our good. Even if we don’t see it until we’re face to face with the Lord. His “why” is always perfect.

“Lord, even as I question the suffering of my loved ones—or even my own—may I land firmly on a trust in Your perfect will that is always for Your glory.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

“The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”   Job 1:12

Reading through the Book of Job is not fun. If you’ve read it, you’ll remember that at the beginning, Job was a wealthy man, with seven sons and three daughters, and more livestock than he could count. He was a godly man, respected by everyone who knew him.

Enter Satan. He challenged God and told Him the only reason Job loved Him was that He had provided him with abundance. The next thing that happened shocks me from a human standpoint every time I read it: God took up the challenge and allowed the devil to take everything from him. God knew that even under those circumstances, Job would still love Him.

The devil had his permission. In one day, he killed off all of Job’s ten children and all of his livestock. Job went through incredible grief, but never wavered in his love for God.

The devil went back to God for another round. “If you take his health from him, he will curse you and die.” God again gave the devil permission to make him miserable with boils all over his body but would not allow him to kill Job.

If that weren’t bad enough, Job’s friends came to comfort him, but instead accused him of committing sin that brought on this punishment. This goes on for chapter after chapter, with Job claiming he had not sinned, and the friends calling him a liar. Still Job remains faithful to the God he doesn’t understand.

Finally, Job’s wife tells him to curse God and die. Job is still faithful.

I have read that book several times, trying to understand. So what is it all about, really? What is God’s point in putting that very difficult story in the Bible?

From Job’s point of view, it was all about Job. It was about loss, misery, and pain. It was about confusion over God’s actions when he had always been faithful to Him. Job wrestled with God verbally and finally came to the correct conclusion: God is sovereign. He has the right to do whatever He deems best, even when we don’t understand.

From Satan’s point of view, it was all about Satan. He was interested in knocking God down a peg and convincing Him that Job only loved Him for what he could get out of it.

But from God’s point of view, it was about displaying His sovereignty to Satan, to Job, and to everyone who would ever read Job’s story—including you and me. Job’s suffering for a while had millennia of influence.

Here’s what I’m taking away from reading about Job this week: When we run into the problems of life, and we’re tempted to pray, “Why me?”…maybe it’s not about us. It could very well be that He is using us for the benefit of someone else.

By the way, it is a relief to read at the end that after Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before, and the end of his life was more blessed than the beginning. Whew!

“Heavenly Father, we don’t ask for trials and tribulations, but when they come, we ask that you be with us as we go through them. Give us a confident trust that You know what You are doing, and your ways are higher than our ways.”

For His Glory
 

Cherie Williams (www.CherieHarbridgeWilliams.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

“Blessed be the Lord who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.”  Psalm 68:19 (ESV)

“You can do anything for 60 seconds,” echoed my online trainer.  I can still hear those words as I tackled a hard workout in 2020.  With all the gyms closed, I opted for the next best option – online exercise classes.  Now, I’m an avid exerciser but this class really kicked – it worked muscles I didn’t know I had.  “You can do anything for 60 seconds” got me through.

Amazing how those motivational words have served me well over the last few years.  Every challenge I encountered was combated with “You can do anything for 1 hour, 1 morning, 1 day, 1 week….” I think we all get the picture.

Challenges can definitely sidetrack us, consume us with worry and overwhelm our stress meter.  If we’re not careful we can zero in on the impossibilities versus trusting our God to empower us to tackle each one.

Easier said than done isn’t it?  My tendency is to take in the whole picture – the entire challenge – and that leaves me feeling powerless.  Exhaustion overwhelms me when just simply playing it all out in my head. Unfortunately, this scenario causes me to write my version of the end of the story – “I can’t do anything.”  Lies straight from the enemy’s lips.  Discouragement and doubt are always his fave ammunition. Satan seizes every opportunity to elevate our weakness and diminish God’s faithfulness. Louie Giglio puts it this way: “The enemy only needs the tiniest crack. A sliver of opportunity.  The smallest window of doubt or uncertainty.”

When we chose to echo, “We can do anything for…..” we are reminded we are not alone in our struggles. When we tap into God’s power and rest in His strength, we can manage the kick of daily pressures.  Leaning on God versus leaning on self positions us to make better decisions, navigate our responses and minimize negative reactions toward others. Focusing on our God instead of the depth of our challenge reminds us He is our daily wisdom, counselor, peace giver and sustainer. He alone knows what we need each step of the way (Matthew 6:11), and He promises to provide for us today – right now. We can confidently trust Him to see us through moment by moment.

Sweet friends, 2025 will probably present us with some challenges we didn’t expect.  None of us knows what a day, month or year will bring.  Just like my online exercise class worked different muscle groups, each challenge we face works to cultivate growth and perseverance (James 1:2-4).  Transforming us daily to cling to our faith rather than self. God is fully aware of what lies ahead, and He is ready to carry us through one step at a time.

“Father, You can be trusted to walk alongside us each day as we face challenges.  You are the One we can lean on.  You are the only One who empowers us to defeat the enemy’s lies.  Thank You for making us victorious even when we can’t see it.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life