
As He (Jesus) passed along He noticed a man blind from his birth. John 9:1 AMPC
Jesus noticed a man. A lonely beggar described as “blind from his birth,” is noticed by the Creator as He walked along the dusty roads of His world. I’m immediately struck by two points in this short verse of Scripture. First, that Jesus noticed the man in the first place. Didn’t He have important people to see and places to go? Didn’t the Savior have a Jerusalem daily planner to follow, demons to cast out or seas to calm?
I confess that I often race through the day without even looking up long enough to see the faces of those He’s placed in my path. Regular folks walking out their own of blind-from-birth trials who just need to be “noticed.” So busy with my life and schedule that I neglect His schedule and His purposes for me.
Secondly, though this man is challenged by his blindness-from-birth condition and though he’s obviously close enough for Jesus to see him, the man remains silent as the Healer walks past him. Cue the chirping crickets. We read nothing of him calling out to Jesus for help. If I were in his shoes, I imagine I would be yelling, pleading, begging for Jesus’ attention, for even the possibility of healing. Yet he remains silent until Jesus Himself presses the issue.
God does not love the rest of the world more than He loves you.
– Arterburg
Does the blind man’s silence speak loudly of one who couldn’t bear the possibility of another disappointment? Another emotional roller coaster of dashed-hopes? Or maybe he had grown so accustom and even comfortable in his pain that he no longer pursued healing? Had pain become so normal that he settled into it like an old chair? If so, the Lord Jesus put His finger on the “comfort zone” of this man’s painful normalcy and offered him deliverance. Our Lord takes the time to notice us. To even seek us out when we don’t have the good sense to cry out. He comes to us in all our brokenness, pursuing us, loving us and then finally putting His finger on our own blind-from-birth condition as He initiates the longing for authentic healing and wholeness.
You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in a bottle. Psalm 56:8 NASB
My Lord and my God, How thankful I am that You notice me, You see me and You care enough to stop. I can hardly type the words without astonishment flooding me. You even provide the desire for healing when I don’t have the good sense to ask. Wiping away the fear of disappointment, I rest in Your faithfulness and lean into Your Sovereign arms. How I love and praise You Father! In Jesus Name. Amen.
Written by Becky White for Jesus
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