“Excuse me Teacher” said one of the men present. “What’s that guy’s story? His circumstances seems weird and strange! Could he have done something wrong or possibly suffering from the consequences of acts perpetuated by his parents?“
The person who asked this question had to know because he had been discussing it with his mates and they could not agree on what could have put the subject matter of their discussion in the state that he was in. In other words, they wanted to know the man’s story.
The Teacher’s response was not what they expected. First, he blew away the opposing arguments away with the response, “Neither this man’s nor his parents’ sinful actions caused this.” I can picture the guys looking at each other and wondering, “What is he talking about? If not that, then what?” The Teacher now went further to answer the question, “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him” (John 9: 3) To confirm that what He said was true, Jesus spit on the ground and made mud with his saliva, and rubbed it over the man’s eyes with an instruction, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (John 9: 6-7)
To the amazement of many, the man came back and he could see! All those who knew the man before, struggled to understand what was going on. Another round of argument broke out. “That looks like the guy who was born blind!” Someone said. “Nah! Can’t be him they just look alike” responded another. Overhearing them, the man speaks out, “Yes, I am the one!” Unable to believe their eyes, the same people asked him, “Who healed you? What happened ?” The he told them how Jesus has healed him.
Every single day of our lives, we encounter people who want to know our story. They are curious about us and they want to know what makes us tick. This man seemingly crossed Jesus’ path on that fateful day and got healed. As soon as he washed his face and had his eyes open, he had no idea where Jesus was, He couldn’t even have recognised Him anyway since He was blind from birth.
Can you imagine how this man’s story changed? Previously, people wondered why he was in the state that he was; blind from birth, unable to fend for himself and having to rely on others to be his eyes. Imagine the gossips, the tales, the innuendos that this man must have endured over the years for a fault that wasn’t his or his parents.
One day however, the story changed. The same people who had seen him for so many years, some with pity, others with disdain, perceiving this man or his parents must have done something terribly wrong and others just curious as to why he was in that state, suddenly saw something different. They did not see a man being led around nor tentatively working around with a stick. They saw a man walking with purpose and looking around him, trying to adjust to seeing light for the first time since he was born.
You may not be blind like this man but you may currently be fighting the battle of your life and people around you, like the people around the man in this story may be wondering why you are going through the situation you are contending with. It is true that sometimes we face the consequences of our actions and more often than not we know and aware of those consequences. There are however other situations that have no bearing on what we have done in the past. They just happened and no one seems to know why - even you.
I want you to be encouraged today, the same Jesus who met with this blind man and changed his story, is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He sees what you are going are going through and is working things out that are way beyond your understanding. The time will come sooner or later when your story will change and when it does, the same people who spoke ill of you before, will be the same ones who will celebrate the glory of God in your life.
I know this because I have experienced the story-changing power of God and I know that if you put your trust in Him, He will do the same for you too!
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the founder of the Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in Kent, United Kingdom, where he works as an IT Professional. He currently serves as a Worship Leader as well as Home Group Leader in his local church and on occasion, speaks at invited events. He is the founder of the BiblepraiseFellowship Online Ministry and Moderator/Editor of the Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org
