(John 9:2) “his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
The disciples came upon a blind man and asked Jesus who sinned that caused him to be blind. We learn three truths about suffering from this story.
1. The PERPLEXITY of Suffering.
Suffering perplexes us. Every day we witness suffering in a thousand different ways and it grieves us in each instance. The world is riddled with suffering, and suffering is perplexing because it seems that man often causes it, but God also allows it. Why doesn’t God do something about it? It is perplexing.
2. The INEQUITY of Suffering.
The only thing that mystifies us more than the perplexity of suffering is the inequity of it. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. It can be difficult trying to make sense of good people suffering with incurable diseases, or children dying of cancer, or populations of countries starving to death. What causes this?
The disciples struggled with this same thing. Why was this man born blind? The only way they could make sense of it was if he or his parents had sinned. But the truth is sometimes people suffer who have done nothing wrong.
3. The CLARITY of Suffering.
Jesus brought clarity to the disciples as to why this man was born blind. In doing so, He gives us a clue as to why God allows bad things to happen to good people.
In (v.3) Jesus said, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” In other words, God allowed this man’s suffering in order for others to see “the works of God” in his life.
I cannot say why you may be suffering, this morning. But, if you are a child of God, we know that according to Romans 8:28 God IS using your circumstances and your suffering to not only work in your life, but also draw others to Him.
If you are suffering, it may not be because of anything you did wrong. God may not be punishing you; He may be trying to use your suffering to bring others to a saving knowledge of Him as their Savior.
***For learn more about why bad things happen to good people, check out my book: God, Why Is This Happening To Me? on Amazon HERE.