Fourth Sunday in Lent - Mysterious Ways
Goes along with Adult Devotion of the same title.
God knows what he’s doing, even when we don’t understand.
Read John 9:1-41.
Bible Focus: “[Jesus] spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” -John 9:6b-7
What would you do if you went to the doctor for a stomach ache, and the doctor drew pictures of frogs on your stomach to make the pain go away?
Jesus did something equally strange to heal the blind man in today’s Bible reading. When the man asked for Jesus’s help, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva, put the mud on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off in a pool across town.
You may have heard the saying, “God works in mysterious ways.” The way Jesus healed the blind man with spit and mud qualifies as pretty mysterious. No one knows why Jesus chose to heal the man that way.
During Lent, we hear about Jesus dying on the cross. This seems normal to us because we’ve heard it so many times, but it really is quite mysterious.
Jesus, who was all-powerful, allowed himself to be arrested, beaten, and crucified? He could have stopped it without lifting a finger.
Jesus, who was perfect, chose to die because he loved everyone in the world so much - even the bullies and the killers? It’s hard to love people like that, but Jesus died for them, too.
Sometimes, it’s hard to understand why God solves our problems the way he does. The good news is that God always knows what he’s doing, even when we don’t understand it. We can trust him. His mysterious ways are always for the good of his people.
Your challenge this week:
Spit on the ground, make mud, and put it on someone’s eyes.
Just kidding! Your (real) challenge this week:
Talk to God about a problem you have.
Please pray:
Dear Jesus, you are all-powerful and perfect. Sometimes, I wonder if your plans are good ones. Thank you for always working for good things for me. I ask that you would help me trust you more. In your name I pray, Amen.
