The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day seven)

True Story: My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37. A preacher showed up on her doorstep and told her that she needed to repent of her sin if she wanted to be healed. He made her feel like it was her sin that caused the cancer.

To be fair, sin did create it. Cancer is a product of the broken world we live in due to the fall. Cancer exists because sin exists. Yet, it is not the individual diagnosed with cancer who invited the sickness into their life due to poor choices. If that were the case, shouldn’t we all have cancer? Jesus plainly tells us here, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

My mother was healed. It was not due to her repentance (which I am sure she did and does often), but it was to display the works of God. Two years later, I was born. I exist because God exists. As do every one of us. We exist so that the works of God might be displayed.

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man…” John 9:1

Jesus saw the man. The disciples would likely not have noticed him if it were not for Jesus. There is little doubt the encounter caused awkward tension for the disciples. They were used to avoiding eye contact and moving along. Rather than say something to the blind beggar, they said something about him; even better, they asked Jesus a theological question. More avoidance.

Jesus wouldn’t have it. He answered their question, then moved in and touched the man.

Jesus challenged me this week to consider the number of people I pass by along the way. Sometimes, even my momentary kindnesses are yet another form of avoidance: smile, greet, move along. 

What if I really saw people? Rather than moving along, what if I entered someone’s universe? The truth is, I might just see the power of God on full display.

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day five)

“This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” v. 3b

How often do we tend to focus on the small picture right in front of us? Weekly? How often do we get stuck looking at the circumstances or areas that God has called us to, wishing that we were somewhere else or doing something else? Daily? How often do we get stuck wondering why God made us {insert your own answer here}? Hourly?

As humans, we have a predisposition to lose focus on the bigger picture (God’s picture) because of our limited perspective. We forget the Creator and that He created us for His purpose with a bigger story in mind. We may not understand the purposes that He has, but we can trust that God, the Creator, knows exactly what He is doing and for what purpose He created us. When we turn our focus to the bigger picture and to the narrative that God is writing for our lives, it helps us let go of the worries or misplaced focus we have. A correct focus helps us get to a place where we can truly say, “I don’t understand it, but I trust Him.”

Maybe you are struggling with {insert your own answer here} so the power of God could be seen in you. You were created in His image on purpose for His purpose!

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day four)

Knowing how to engage with someone who is different from you is challenging – this was true in ancient Israel and it remains true today. When we see someone who is different from us, especially in a way that is physical or obvious to our eyes, we might find ourselves feeling uncomfortable or not knowing how to respond. In our own way, we may even search for reasons to “explain away” that person’s difference, just like the disciples.

But this man’s difference couldn’t be explained through the disciples’ way of thinking or cultural assumptions. It could only be rightly understood in the light of Jesus, the light by which see things clearly, as God made them to be. God created this man to live a life that spoke of God’s glory and miraculous nature. Later in the story, we read God used this man’s physical blindness to shed light on the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees.

Those who are different from us uniquely and equally reflect God’s glory. When we engage with difference through worldly eyes, we become fearful, distrustful, and search for blame. When we engage with difference through the eyes of Christ, a new part of the Kingdom is unveiled to us.

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day three)

“Rabbi, who sinned…?”

Whose fault is it? Who’s to blame? Who did it wrong? These questions say more about the one asking than the one asked about. A marginalized person – one who does not fit with the norms of the group, one whose voice is ignored, who possesses no power, no sway, and is relegated to “the least of these” – such a person poses a question that is hard to ignore. The question is this: “How will you love this person?” If you can identify some kind of moral or character-based deficiency in that person, it’s easier to turn down the volume of that question. And then, you have a justification for avoiding it altogether.

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day two) so that the works of God might be displayed Vs.3b

You were created to display the work of God. In the fullness of creation, you were fearfully and wonderfully made (hang on to that text in the next couple of weeks), and your creation you were made to fulfill a purpose that was divinely given to you. This passage deals with a ‘dis’ ability, and the fixation on whether sin caused it, but may I challenge you to consider that whatever ability, inability, disability you have been given is for a purpose. Your life is to glorify the creator. Sometimes we have the opportunity to do that through blessing and abundance, and sometimes we can glorify him through a need or lack. Spend time thinking how uniquely you were made, and then consider how you are glorifying God through your life.

Re:Verse passage – Revelation 5:9-10 (day seven) 

and they will reign upon the earth. Revelation 5:10b

Modern atheism would be defined as a a belief that there is no god, but the practice of modern atheism would point to a belief that you are your own god. This is the belief that each person is in charge of their own destiny and thus, their own god. Modern culture, even those who do not claim atheism, would encourage such behavior as well. Culture would tell you that you are the definer of your own truth, the maker of your own path, and the ruler of your own world.

The irony in all this is that through God, you are promised to rule the world. Despite our constant striving to be God, we find ourselves missing the very thing we have been working so hard to attain. We were in fact created to rule in this world, but we cannot rule without recognizing that we were first created to worship. When our priorities are correct, and we follow our Lord Jesus Christ, He will instill in us the desire and ability to lead others into joyful life with Him. This is our dominion.

Re:Verse passage – Revelation 5:9-10 (day six)

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17

The world is filled with song. Wherever you go, people sing. Every tribe, people, and nation has songs to sing. We celebrate, commemorate, and narrate in song. John reminds us just how important songs are by capturing for us ” a new song.” This song comes from a long line of redemption songs: Exodus 15 (the first song recorded in the Bible), 2 Samuel 22, and even the Magnificat in Luke 1, to name a few.

It makes you wonder if, from the beginning, we were made to sing the glories of God. We were made in his image, after all, called to fill the earth with his glory, but what if the clearest and truest singing voice is not our own but God’s?

I can’t wait to hear it.