Matins Devotion: February 27, 2o25

John 9:1-23

When the disciples ask Jesus why this man was born blind, they’re trying to answer the question of suffering. They’re trying to solve the mystery of why certain afflictions fall on certain people. Why has this particular man been blind from birth? Was he being punished for something he would do? Was this a punishment that God poured out upon his parents? Obviously someone was being punished for something, so what was it?

But Jesus leads them away from this fruitless way of thinking. This didn’t happen as a punishment for sin, but so the works of God could be revealed in him. God allowed blindness to consume this man so that, when He took it away, the man and all of us would see the unfathomable mercy of God erupting from the healing mouth of Jesus Christ. In all of this, we see that when it comes to the question of suffering, very often, you can’t answer it by asking yourself “why?” But you can answer it by asking yourself “what now?”

So when you suffer, don’t ask yourself “why?” Don’t ask why this particular affliction has consumed you and not someone else. Don’t ask what sins someone committed that caused these tears to drip from your eyes. Without a direct answer from the Scriptures, you can’t find the answer to those “why” questions.

But you can answer “what now?” You can answer “what comes next?” And what comes next is that you run to the feet of Christ. You run to the Lord who has let you see, through your suffering, that you are sinner utterly incapable of saving yourself. And you hear Him tell you that He has forgiven your sins, that He has washed away all your filth and corruption and given you new life. You run to Christ who shows you God’s love by swearing to end your blindness on the great and glorious day when He lifts you up from the grave and opens your eyes to gaze upon the face of God who calls you His own. When you suffer, ask yourself “what now” and Jesus will tell you, “now you rest in my promises, the promises of the One who has accomplished the mighty works of God in you and for you.”