I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S YOU: WHO HEALED YOU? PT 2

While He was passing by, He noticed a man [who had been] blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), who [a]sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed and illustrated in him. 4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world [giving guidance through My word and works].” 6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with His saliva, and He spread the mud [like an ointment] on the man’s eyes. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of [b]Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. 8 So the neighbors, and those who used to know him as a beggar, said, “Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Still others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But he kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” 11 He replied, “The Man called Jesus made mud and smeared it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received my sight!” 12 They asked him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

John 9:1-12 AMP

What do you do when you need a healing, blessing, or deliverance, but Jesus is doing it in an unexpected or unfavorable way? I think that is a serious question to ponder for a moment because as was the case for the blind man in this passage, his healing came through Jesus rubbing mud (clay) that he formed with his spit on the man’s eyes. Would you be willing to allow Jesus to rub this on your eyes? Lets use another example, would you be willing to present your business plan and apply for a loan at the bank operated by your teenage nemesis? Could you move back home to stay with your parents to stay rent-free after falling on hard times if the reason you left was because you though they were too strict? If your deliverance from gout, high cholesterol, “the sugar” (diabetes), high blood pressure, or some other medical condition required you to give up your favorite foods, alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, and certain lifestyle activities, would you do it? I ask these questions because I want you to decide which is more important to you, the healing/blessing, or the method/vehicle through which it is accomplished? Are you willing to get messy in order to be cleansed? Can you endure a moment’s worth of pain, or embarrassment for a life of deliverance? The blind man in the passage above allowed Jesus to place the clay on his eyes, and then went to Siloam to wash without protesting any of Jesus’ actions or directions. I believe that the blind man had suffered through his condition long enough, and now being in the presence of the man that I’m sure he had already heard the stories about was willing to do anything to receive his healing. What is special about Jesus is that because he knows what we are in need of even before we ask, he addresses the man’s need, which will change his conditions. Giving the man sight will change his life immediately, no longer rendering him dependent to others goodwill. Sight will allow the man to care and provide for himself, and also spread a personal testimony of Jesus’ healing ability. The greatest witness to Jesus’ power and authority is our lives/testimony. Even more important than Jesus healing the man’s blindness was creating an additional witness, and sending the man out into the field (world) to help gather the harvest (spread the Christian message). Jesus doesn’t heal or perform miracles for his amusement, or ours, but rather to further God’s agenda.

Reflection Time

Do you have the blind and unwavering faith to obey Jesus’ directions wholeheartedly? Have you been healed of anything? What was it, and have you shared your deliverance to those who may be praying/searching for the same thing? Are you willing to be healed/blessed in an unorthodox way?