When He Found Him

I read a beautiful story to my son this morning for his first fruits time with God. It touched my heart as I related to the man in the story.

The man had been blind since birth, and so had never experienced anything but darkness. As Jesus passed by, His disciples asked Him why the man was blind. Jesus told them, “so that the works of God could be revealed in him.”

Sometimes we don’t understand why something bad has happened to us. We don’t understand why we undeservedly suffered harm or loss or rejection. We may not understand why God would allow something like this to happen. This man had been blind since birth! He didn’t do anything to deserve it, it was just the circumstances he found himself in. Jesus explained that the darkness this man was experiencing had a purpose. Its purpose was to reveal the power of God for all to see! It was revealed in him and through him. His darkness was not in vain… it allowed others to see light of Jesus.

When the religious leaders learned what happened, they questioned him. They berated him, and questioned him relentlessly. The man continued to speak highly of Jesus, but they didn’t want to hear or see anything good that Jesus had done in this man’s life. They criticized him and cast him out.

There are going to be people around us who don’t understand why we do the things we do. They may not understand why we would want to talk highly about Jesus. They really are not interested in hearing about anything wonderful the Lord is doing. They want to convince themselves that they are going through life just fine without God, all the while their souls are perishing. They may criticize a type of person that is passionate about Jesus and lives by a standard of truth and commitment to their God. But I absolutely love what happens next in the story!

John 9:35

When Jesus heard what had happened, He found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

Oh, be still my heart! When Jesus heard what had happened, he found him… Jesus. The Son of God. The Savior of the World. The most esteemed man of all time, sought him out. He looked for him and found him, and came to him! Jesus cared that he had been cast out. He cared that he had been treated unfairly. This man was all alone when he spoke up for Jesus. Even his parents wouldn’t speak up for Him. This man was rejected for his belief in the Son of God. He was cast out and scorned, and just when it looked like maybe it would have been better for him to have compromised his stance on Jesus, the Lord Himself came to him.

John 9:36-38

And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”

Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

Jesus cares about my rejection. Jesus cares about my grief. Jesus cares that others let me down and that I may not be understood. What would I rather have? The approval of those who don’t really care about the One Who has shown me more love than anyone I’ve ever known? Or would I rather suffer temporary rejection and loneliness if it meant that Jesus… Jesus… would come and find me right where I’m at, and speak personally to me?

2 Corinthians 1

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

Our suffering is not in vain. If we are misunderstood because of our commitment to Jesus, He will comfort us. If we are unfairly criticized, hurt, or rejected, God will comfort us. Then, we will use the hope we found as we worshipped Jesus through our pain to comfort others who are going through the same things. It’s much easier to give ourselves over to despair or compromise. It takes more strength and determination to keep our focus on Jesus, but I am convinced that as we do, He will hear about it and come looking for us. He will speak to us and will touch our hearts so deeply that all we can do is worship Him.

Jesus, You know all that I have wrongly experienced. You know that I never wanted this to be my story. But, nevertheless, it is my story. I can choose to question You, resent You, ignore You, or compromise against You. Or, I can choose to look for Your will in the middle of it. I can choose to stand strong in my love and appreciation for all You’ve done for me. I can choose to trust that You will use my sufferings to reveal Your power to all those around me.

Having You come find me is worth it. Having You speak to me is worth it. Getting to see You in my life when others don’t, is worth it. Lord, I believe! I worship You! I worship You for caring about me, and taking my suffering and using it for Your glory. Your glory is more important than my pain.

#pain #suffering #rejection