Who Sinned?

I had a bad day last week. Felt like nothing I do goes right. Depressed.  Just wanted to run away and hide.

But God reminded me of a friend. He had an accident as a kid—hit by a car. No lasting physical damage but to this day, doctors can’t predict or stop the seizures he has had since that accident. He can never drive and is on disability since no one wants the liability if he had a seizure at work. He has a wonderful family—a loving wife and a son who is a Godly young man.

At some point, they decided to adopt and God brought them a beautiful son.  The child was born with autism and would need special care his entire life. They went ahead and the child became a part of their family. He has been blessed not only with a loving family but also an extended family in Christ.

As I thought about my friend, his family and their adopted son, I thought about how different things would have been if Christ was not the center of their lives and the One they turned to in their decision making.

John 9^:3   “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

This scripture came to mind as I considered my friend—and myself. A lot of things happen in our lives every day that just don’t seem to make sense-a car accident-autism- things that affect our lives deeply and hurt to our very soul. This passage reminded me that its really not so important what happens in our lives as it is how we handle them. God wants us to be different, to act different especially when things aren’t going our way. Will we allow God to be seen through our afflictions that He may be glorified and in that, we will be blessed.

It’s not easy to say this and I don’t always feel this way—but thank you Lord that you would choose to glorify Yourself through my struggles. Please give me the strength to endure with grace. Amen – Steve Schmidt is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a regular Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 11-13; John 10:24-42

Quote of the day: When a person believes that repentance revolves around changing bad behavior into good behavior, his whole focus will be on behavior and not on Jesus Christ. Genuine repentance is simply to align our belief with His finished work. If you trust Him, there is nothing more you need to do. There’s nothing more you *could* do because He has already done it all. Repentance is nothing more than changing our minds about Him and what He has already done to deal with sin. It is joining our will to His work and resting in the fact that it is enough. – Steve McVey

Verse to Memorize:  My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me Your statutes. My tongue will sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are right. Psalm 119:171-172