Isaiah 45:15
Our God Hides
15 Truly you are a God who hides himself,
O God and Savior of Israel.
John 16:33
In This World We Will Have Troubles
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 5:29-30
On Obstacles for God When We Seek God
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
John 9:1-12
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
11He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
12"Where is this man?" they asked him.
"I don't know," he said.
In this world you will have trouble...And each day has enough trouble of its own...We must seek God in all times and circumstances in our lives, even in the times of trouble...And we must seek Him, even though we think He hides...We must seek Him even though we think He hides...I often think as Isaiah writes, that God hides from me, too...But that does not make us stop looking for Him...We must seek Him with all our hearts and all our souls -both sincerely and humbly...Those are two attributes of God...
So, I must ask myself, am I seeking Him when I want Him, and am I seeking Him to have a personal relationship with?...Do I just seek Him on the days I need Him?...If your spouse or family just wanted to see you when things in your life were going good how would that be?...If your family just wants to see you on the best of days and not when you have a bad cold, a sore back, some arthritis, some thinning hair, some bad eyesight (even if you were going blind or became blind), had the flu, or some allergies -how would that feel?...Jesus wants us to discover God, know matter what the time is in our life...Young or old, rich or poor, good health or poor health, blind or with good sight, and in good times and bad times...He wants all the obstacles that keep us from God to be removed in our lives, so we can be close to Him...All times are the times to know and be with His Father...
Suppose you were born blind, and had been to every doctor and all these physicians told you that you would never be able to see...But you were told that in this world there was One Great Physician, who might heal you...This Great Physician was on a remote part of the earth and was very hard to get a hold of...He hard a liquid-type medicine (that only He had) and that He would put that elixir on your eyes, and that more than likely would heal your eyes...Would your seek Him?...You were born blind, so you did not sin to cause your blindness -you were far to young to sin...You were just born this way...You feel a victim, and a little angry, because you did nothing in the world to deserve this...And the Physician you need is hard to find, and hard to get to...Would you seek Him?...Would you continue your journey for Him?...The Great Physician healed one similar to this, because He is the Light of the world...The man born blind needed a Great Physician to show Him the Light of this world...This Physician had the true elixir of life...The Great Physician helped this man see the world and find God...We all need this Physician -good times or bad times -because He is much more than a Physician...He is also our Savior...
The believer reading the story about the healing of the blind, sees the miracle...The skeptic and non-believer sees no miracle just a working doctor and asks, where was God all the years prior to the healing...God gives us free choice to believe...Blaise Pascal says, “God gives us just enough light so that those who really want to find him can, but not so much light that those who don’t really want to find him don’t have to.” So what decides your salvation is not how smart you are, but your heart, your love...(Since God is Love) Lovers will see, others won’t....(in parenthesis are my words)...