Lenten Devotional - Day 29

Scripture: John 9:1-7

“As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

  I heard stories in A.A. of individuals that stated they were grateful God made them an alcoholic, because it helped them to have a life better than they could have had otherwise. Of course, these statements were made by people who were in recovery. As they reflected upon their lives they were grateful in how their addiction ultimately lead them to a life of recovery. Their recovery, in turn, lead them to a transformed life filled with the joy they were now experiencing. I don’t believe God ever planned someone to intentionally become dependent upon AOD, but I have personally come to understand that God can use the place wherever it is we are now, as the starting point for a wonderful journey to discover God’s love, mercy and grace.

  Our life stories vary greatly from person to person and in each circumstance, God uses our stories to reveal God’s presence. We all have stories of faith, we might think that others would find our stories lackluster and uninspiring, but we don’t give ourselves enough credit. We might not appreciate the place where our journey begins, but we can only start at the place we currently are.

  While attending seminary, I had a field education position working in evangelism in a north side Chicago church. At the time, I thought I was misplaced in this specific ministry position. My evangelism partner was a woman in the church who was about my age and was originally from western Pennsylvania, like me. We were assigned to visit individuals who had visited the church and trained how to share our faith stories and guide these individuals in making a personal decision for Christ. We both had grown up in similar churches and we both believed our faith stories were rather dull and boring, probably not capable of changing any hearts or minds. We were both wrong. Our dull and boring stories connected to the lives of many we visited. I discovered during those days the Holy Spirit was fully capable of taking whatever we had to offer and use it to give glory to God. God’s spirit can take whatever the circumstance of our lives may be and provide us with a story of faith “so that God’s works might be revealed.” (v. 3)

  We may believe that we have nothing to offer our communities on a variety of social problems. The blind man trusted Jesus and begin at the point where he found himself and God’s works were revealed in him, as they can be revealed in us. If we take the time to discern how the Holy Spirit is already at work within our communities, we will discover we can become God’s partner in giving glory to God in all things.

Lee McDermott, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Our ability to see God’s works revealed in our midst.

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