Hello everyone , I have been away for a short period and in that place is where I recieve instruction, correction and comfort from the Father . Today I would like to share with you what was given to me. We will be looking at the scripture text of John 9 focusing on verse 6. This account gives us so much insight into the way God works , how Christ heals, how people are delivered , how we as humans can jump to conclusions and be judgemental, and even shows us how others react when someone is made whole.
Before we go into the Word , I would like to say it is a beautiful thing when you understand what area or areas He has gifted you in, this way you do not spend and exorbiant amount of time trying to be someone else, walk in their shoes or imitate their style. God takes our personality which is natural and meshes it with His super and then we can go forth and be world changers.
As a child around the age of three.. I quickly realized that I liked "words". Crossword puzzles, word searches, I read everything from the ingredients off the cereal box, to street signs, reciepts and even obituaries... yeah I know I am special :). In math class my favorite times were spent solving word problems. I found out later that I was one of those children who talked before they walked. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to what others had to say; even if they were 10 - 15 years older than myself. I was well able to hold a conversation with the best of them. My family would come to me to ask what were the words to songs or they would say Na-Na what did he just say ? . So after all of these years.. I think it not strange that the Bible and the dictionary are my two favorite books in the world.
I am the girl who found sheer pleasure in untangling everything from knotted shoelaces to entangled gold chains. Modestly and honestly I probabaly could have invented the rubberband ball or the Rubik`s cube. Something intrigued me about unraveling paperclips and looking for needles in haystacks... whenever something was cluttered , out of order or not working properly I desired to find out why it was broken ; fix it and then present it to others; so it could once again be used for it`s intended purpose.
What am I saying ? .. we all know the power of our words.. in Genesis God said and it was , He did not have an architectural map on paper , but layed out the foundations of the world by the power of His breath. He has afforded us the same strength. Gary Coleman said... what you talkin bout Willis ? , Chris Tucker said.. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? Arnold Schwarzeneggar said.. I`ll be back.. that`s a whole other blog yall. , a modern day preacher said... your words shape your world, one of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 1:12.. where it declares that God watches over His word to perform it.. scripture also reminds us ( brings back to our mind again) that there is power in the tongue and that we would eat the fruit of that which we speak; so we are either putting people or ourselves on blast or producing fruit that will last. BUT Jesus Christ said... Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He reminds us that it is not what we put in our mouths , but that which comes out will cause us to feast or famine. So just like we watch other people as well as television we need to "watch" i.e guard and pay close attention to what we say.
So now we can look at how Christ took something from within and brought about deliverance to a man`s outward infirmity. The word Saliva is defined as a watery fluid secreted by the glands in the mouth; which aids in the digestion process. So God in all of His infinite wisdom afforded our bodies to produce water from our mouth to help us deal with the issues of life... that was good to me right there. !.
The man was blind from birth, I don`t know about you but I began to wonder after all this time had anyone even prayed for this man to be healed or did they just look at him and proclaim .. he has been that way all these years ... maybe God is punishing him for sinning ? They even went so far as to insinuate that the parents may have been the reason he did not have his sight. And these were the disciples who walked with Christ daily ... now before we throw them under the bus for being trifling, let us acknowledge that we have the same uncanny knack of thinking thoughts that are unfair and stifling. And truth be told... as soon as some of us see "someone going through" our first instinct is to connect it with sin, not realizing a person could really just be thankful to God. Or as the scripture goes on to explain that GOD allowed this to occur that His glory alone would be revealed.
Pain, affliction, testings, temptations or illness is not always a sign of sin , but at times can be the result of sin. Many believe that if everything is going well, we are prospering ,God is moving and our pockets are fat.. WE must be doing something or for others everything right. But if none of these things are occuring does that nullify the power, grace, prosperity and peace of God... Certainly not. So if a person is struggling we can too mistake it for them not "trusting" God, or accuse them of not having enough faith; when in actuality the Holy Spirit gave us the gift of faith so how do we even resolve that it`s not enough ? . I know we can suffer from unbelief , but it`s not because we don`t have the faith it`s usually because WE can`t figure God out and when He does something contrary to the way we think it should have been done ; or different from our scheduling we began to lose heart.
We witness in verse six, how Christ takes probably one of the things that most would find detestable to bring healing to the one He loves. Most cannot stand the sight of spit, when others spit or to even hear the word spit makes some cringe. In earlier times for someone to spit on you it was considered the highest form of disrespect , so what is being taught here is Christ is the "God of opposites". I love that about Him ...The word proclaims that He takes the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Who in the world would think to mix spit and dirt and use it as a healing agent : NOBODY BUT GOD !.
The man was obedient to Christ and his instruction after his healing process began, so we too should be participatory; yes we are encouraged to do self examinations , but only the Great Physician can make us well.. No one is ever successful when trying to heal themselves especially if they had no part in allowing the affliction to present itself in the first place. The thing that struck me here was not that the man had had his sight restored .. because remember , he was never able to see, but that Christ immediatley healed him.. and he was blessed to recieve a visual to all that he had "heard" about concerning his surroundings, the man was now well able to enjoy them at the level in which the Lord intended.
Whatever God allows to take place in our lives ... please know it will ALWAYS be for our good , His glory and the girding up of others. Christ himself who knew no sin became sin for us that we would become the righteousness of God. How many of us are willing to suffer , so that someone elses faith can be elevated?. How many times do we pray for exaltation when we should be praying for humility?.. Christ layed down his life for people who he outright knew would reject him. But many of us today are so afraid to be vulnerable , so we shut God and people out if it causes us discomfort. I pray we learn to see as He does, loves as He does, forgive as He does, rejoice and not reject as He does and understand regardless of how a person got to that point ; do that which YOU have been anointed to ... so they will see God, themselves and others without blinders.
I would like to say everything Christ did was according to the Kingdom of Heaven, if we will continue to seek Him and His righteouesness, everything else would be added to us. So may we today ... whose eyes have been opened look for opportunities to be a blessing to someone other than ourselves.
Always remember and never forget... Man who was made from the dust of the earth can only recieve deliverance by what comes out of the mouth of God. !!!. Recieve the Saliva of the Savior...
Hidden In Him
Pretina J. McNeil
