9: Being a Disciple During Suffering
Key Passage
As he went 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?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
John 9:1-7
Devotional
How can we be disciples during suffering today? Many of us will go through a healing journey, as we read in John 9. God still heals, restores, and rescues us supernaturally today. However, we also experience trouble and heartbreak in this world. What about then? Paul gives us a key in the book of Romans.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
When we suffer, it’s essential to wait on instructions from God. The blind man was healed as he went to the pool of Siloam. But during those dark times when God must lead us through the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23), we also must wait on God. During those times, we glory in our sufferings, knowing that God is doing something inside of us while we wait for an outward demonstration of God’s Kingdom.
So, sometimes, being a disciple means waiting in faith and rejoicing in God’s goodness despite or even through our difficult circumstances. Through these seasons, God pours His hope into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Daily Prayer
“Lord, today I embrace your work in areas of long-term illness or suffering in my life and family. While I wait patiently for your healing, I embrace what you are doing inside of me. I choose to suffer well for your glory, and ask that You would pour Your love in my heart through the Holy Spirit.”