Problems: Punishments or Opportunities?
4/15/25 Bible Thought (John 9)
I recently heard a story of a man who stubbed and possibly broke a toe in the middle of an ultramarathon with about 50 miles to go. Knowing the gist of how this feels and how it feels to run on a broken toe, I’m sure I would’ve stepped (or perhaps gimped) out of the race. Yet, this guy said afterwards in a podcast that he’s trying to look at problems more as challenges to be overcome than setbacks. I’ve found this truly inspiring and have been seeking to apply it to my own life.
In John 9, we actually find something very similar. There’s a problem: a man who has been born blind. There’s a solution: the Lord Jesus Christ. However, what wasn’t immediately clear was the reason for the man’s problem.
The disciples, upon seeing the man in need, ask whose sin it was that caused this man’s blindness. Was it his own? Or was it the sins of his parents? It was a common view at that time that suffering was proportional or at least associated with sin.[1]
Jesus responds beautifully by saying,
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn. 9:3).
In essence, this isn’t an issue of sin, but of God’s glory. This problem wasn’t punishment, rather it was an opportunity!
Jesus heals the man, gets in trouble with the religious leaders, and ultimately the man is thrown out of the synagogue (Jn. 9:34). They still believed he was born in “utter sin” (Jn. 9:34a). They couldn’t connect the dots for they still believed his problem was punishment he rightfully deserved.
Yet, Jesus knew the truth. Just as He announced, this was an opportunity for the works of God. Now, the man is no longer known as a blind man, but rather, “the man who had formerly been blind” (Jn. 9:13, emphasis added). His whole identity changed as He was touched by Jesus!
None of this would’ve happened though, had the man been born with sight.
It makes me think of the countless stories in Scripture that display God’s glory and power that might not have occurred if there hadn’t first been a problem. No one would’ve known that Yahweh could make a highway through the sea, had it not been for the people of Israel being trapped between Pharaoh and the sea. It was the problem that gave God the opportunity to show up and to show off.
I wonder how different our lives would look if we viewed problems with this lens.
Now, this isn’t to say that we never get ourselves into messes of our own making. Truly, the second half of 2 Samuel proves that sometimes there are natural consequences for sin. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean every problem, obstacle, malady, or what have you that comes our way is automatically divine chastisement for our sins.
Perhaps, God is just being given opportunities to show Himself as the one who is able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think?” (Eph. 3:20).
What obstacles or problems in your life might need to be reframed as opportunities for the all-powerful and loving God to put His glory on display?
[1] Craig S. Keener, John, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, vol. 2A of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 93.
Fantastic post today. Thank you for sharing!