John 9:6-7 (KJV)
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle,
and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto
him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.)
He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
There is no way we can read this portion of scripture without wondering
why Jesus chose to use clay and spittle to heal this blind man, along
with telling him to go and wash. He didn't heal other blind men this way
– some Christ simply touched their eyes and they could see again. But
this blind man's healing came about differently. Why do you think this
was so? We can only speculate as I will do today, but think about this
for a moment… Can't God heal us anyway He chooses to?? Is there a certain
way that we expect the Lord to heal our infirmities, to strengthen us?
Is He restricted by our human methods and understanding when it comes
to performing miracles?? Are we only going to believe Him because it makes
sense to us, or because it is agreeable, or will our faith take us beyond
our human comprehension and bring us to the place of trusting God?
Romans 9:21a (KJV)
Hath not the potter power over the clay....
You know what I found interesting in this particular situation? It's just
a tiny glimpse at the character of God found in these verses, but in actuality
it is a clear picture of how deep God's love for us really is! What fascinated
me is that the Lord lovingly aided the faith of this sightless man. He
put a dirt paste on his eyes and then told him to go and wash before vision
was granted. You see ladies, the dirt spread on his eyes by Jesus helped
send him along to the water! You have to consider that once that dirt
dried it would have started to irritate his eyes, right? Every blink would
enhance this man’s discomfort! Now, you might think that sounds like an
unkind thing for the Savior to do. Why put further irritation upon his
eyes, the very place of a man that is already irritated with the handicap
of blindness? But, would the blind man have gone to the water without
the dirt paste having been placed there by God? Probably not... I think
the water is where the Lord wanted the blind man to go in the first place.
But if the Lord had told this man that, would he have listened, would
he have believed he needed the washing of the water? Without the accompanying
irritation added to his handicap, would he have obeyed and gone to the
water and washed?? Would his faith have been strong enough to take him
there? Yes, our loving Father helped this poor blind man along in his
faith – and He does the same for you and me....
Hebrews 12:2a (KJV)
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith....
Helen Keller stated, "Dark as my path may seem to others, I carry a magic
light in my heart. Faith, the spiritual strong searchlight, illumines
the way..." What course has God directed you to take as of late? Let's
be honest, ladies; with every weakness, every spiritual disability we
have, we can become comfortable in it. We stubbornly try to "survive"
in spite of our individual handicaps and still continue somehow in our
Christianity. But then the Lord, in His great love for us, sends some
added irritation to that particular area of disability in our lives. You
know what that irritation is? God asks us to put forth personal effort
to overcome our weaknesses! In other words, we are not to remain Christian
invalids, there is no room for excuse - where is our faith??
For instance, very often I become annoyed by my own infirmities, as I'm
sure you are by your own. But sometimes I'll even use them and say, "Well,
I just can't do something like that, I'm not capable Lord, I'm handicapped."
God's answer to that? Go and wash!! He doesn't say, "Oh you poor blind
thing!" Instead, my heavenly Father puts dirt paste on my eyes and drives
me to the water! If He didn't, I probably wouldn't look for relief from
the irritation of my handicaps, or for deliverance from them in the Lord!
Thank God today, dear lady, for the irritation of responsibility that
He sends along with your personal weaknesses, for it is what drives you
to the water - the water of His precious Word for washing, cleansing,
healing and sight!
Ephesians 5:26 (KJV)
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word,
Now ladies, if I was blind since birth and had been begging in the street
as long as this man had been, I'm sure that over the course of time I
would have learned a thing or two overhearing conversations around me.
I can only imagine that the listening skills of a blind person must be
sharper when eyesight is absent. Dwelling among the townspeople, I may
have even heard tell how other blind people were healed. Common sense
alone would have told me that clay and spittle was a pretty bizarre recipe
for healing someone! It didn't make a bit of sense to go about it the
way Jesus chose to here. Have you ever been upset with the Lord for dealing
with you in a different manner than others? I'll admit to you that even
as a blind beggar, it would certainly have caused me to wonder a bit when
a perfect stranger mixed his saliva with dirt and put it on my eyes and
then told me to go wash! I think I may have told Jesus He was making a
mockery of me or that He was just plain crazy - but only because I didn't
know Him… Yet, this blind man in John chapter 9 obeyed a perfect stranger!
Why then can’t you and I obey the Lord we know personally as our Savior?
John 14:17 (KJV)
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you.
Then I stopped and thought, I wonder if that's how God feels when we don't,
by faith, trust what He is doing in our lives. I wonder if He ever feels
like His children treat Him like He is crazy?? Think about it for a moment...
What is your reaction to the Lord when He asks something out of the ordinary
of you or something you didn’t anticipate? Something that you know in
your heart you just aren't capable of doing in your own strength? When
the Lord, KNOWING OUR INFIRMITIES, puts dirt paste precisely on that incapacitated
part of our lives and presents an occasion to glorify Him we say, "Sorry
Lord, I'm handicapped, can't do it." Or we say, "Lord, you're crazy, not
me!" How about, "You're not going to make a mockery of me in front of
everyone!" Oh, we're all ready to risk being martyrs for Christ but not
fools for Christ, amen? Reality is, dear lady, you are becoming irritated
with the responsibility of having to put some effort into overcoming your
personal weaknesses! You may even think it is unreasonable of the Lord
to require such a thing of a handicapped person like yourself! And then
because of the dirt He puts on top of a highly sensitive situation, we
HAVE to go to the water to wash, where we discover His methods of healing
in our lives were perfect - and can be trusted!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
[6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Ladies, what the Lord is doing to you is not malicious; He is lovingly
sending you to the water of His Word! That pool of Siloam was by interpretation
named SENT. We too are SENT by God to do the same - Go wash, go find the
strength to do the impossible, go face the unexpected - go find HIM! Ladies,
what happened to that "poor blind man" would happen to you and me - he
came back SEEING; he was made whole! Do you exhibit confidence in God
even though you may not understand His ways at the time? Even though you
find His methods for your improvement humiliating? Dare your soul to go
farther than it can see! Only because the blind man submitted to Christ's
process was there a healing of his handicap. Yes, faith IS blind - blind
to hopelessness, fear, and excuse!
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him.
I don't know about you, but I'm headed straight for the pool of Siloam
to wash!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
