Being with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Every single time I read John chapter nine, I ALWAYS feel convicted. At the beginning of the chapter, before Jesus even heals the man, the disciples are blind to the man’s need for healing. I really resonated with this. How many times in our life do we see someone in need and think, "Well, they probably did something to deserve it". It can be very easy to be blinded from Jesus’ perspective the same as the disciples. As Christians, God has opened our eyes to many truths about Him. He is the Healer and Jesus is the Son of Man. But we must not be so bold as to assume that we see all things clearly. Like the disciples, we can be blinded by our judgment of others, blaming them for their problems instead of reaching out to them with the compassion of Jesus. We can let our preconceived notions of how God works (and doesn’t work) blind us to the miracles that are occurring in the lives of our neighbors. Like the Pharisees, our religious beliefs can keep us from seeing the ways that God is moving in our lives. And like the parents, our fear of the reactions of others can blind us from the truly miraculous, preventing us from celebrating and worshiping our great God. This passage made this so clear to me. 

By the end of this story, we see that the formerly blind man is the only one who is truly seeing. Only he testifies about what Jesus has done for him, believing and worshiping Jesus as the Son of Man. Maybe you're blinded in an area of your life that has not been open for Jesus to be a part of. I challenge you today to invite Him in. 

As we wrap up this week, I want to do something a little different. Find somewhere to be alone and take a seat. Open your hands, palms up, and rest them on your knees. Whenever I have a hard time letting go of something or inviting Jesus into a part of my life I'm ashamed of, I do this to represent my openness to him. Take some time to pray today.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.
  
• SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
  
• OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises? 
  
• APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you? 
  
• PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.