For A Reason

This morning I was reading a Scripture passage that I've read before about one of the people that Jesus healed.

The story is found in John 9:1-11, and starts with Jesus and His disciples walking by a blind man.  Do you remember?  The disciples ask Jesus, basically, why the man is blind--was it his sin or his parents'?  They assumed this because the man had been blind from birth.  Jesus' reply touched my heart,

It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

And then, after He said those words, Jesus healed him.

The reason this passage touched me is because it made me realize (again) how sovereign God is over all things.  Jesus is saying that this man was born blind so that "the works of God might be displayed in Him".  It doesn't mention the age of the blind man, but I wonder how many times in his life he had questioned why this had happened to him?  Think about that, and then think about how many times we question things that we (or others) may be going through.  Could it be, in some of those cases, that it's because God wants to reveal His glory?

You know, sometimes we may not understand why things happen, but God knows.  In fact, He either purposes or permits it for a reason (Romans 8:28).  There are things that happen as a result of sin, but then there are things that happen because God has a greater purpose, even though we may not understand right away.  When this world (or your life) seems out of control, remember that the Bible says that our days were ordered for us before even one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16).  God knows our circumstance, and our job is listen to Him, trust Him, obey Him and pray that, as in the case of this blind man, God's works might be displayed in us.