“Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”
God’s purpose for your life is sometimes fulfilled through your suffering.
Imagine if the lame man had never been lame. Imagine if he had never been at the pool of Bethesda, suffered through inability to reach the water, and experienced loneliness. The lame man’s lameness led him to Christ.
Often we think of God’s healing as the taking away of a disease or difficulty, but God’s trials always have purposes.— Faith in God accepts the trial and trusts God’s perfect will to be done.
I’m sure there were times the lame man questioned if he would ever be healed. I’m sure he questioned the worth of his existence as he lay by a pool unable to help himself and without someone to help him. Yet as he endured through his suffering, Jesus came and healed him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
Jesus’ plan was to heal this man and show to all around that healing doesn’t come simply from a pool, but from the very Son of God. God’s purpose was fulfilled through this man’s suffering.
Have you ever stopped to realize that God’s purpose for your life is sometimes fulfilled through your suffering? What we view as painful and unnecessary, God views as glorifying. We can’t understand God’s purpose behind everything that happens in our lives, but we can trust not just for our deliverance, but for His glorification through our trials.
Are you going through a trial? God’s immediate healing would be a wonderful thing, would it not? Don’t focus on your deliverance, but rather think about God’s eternal purpose and plan in your trial. God does have a purpose for your situation, and He does desire to work through you, but you must allow Him to. Most lost people question God during difficulties, but as God’s child, realize that His will is being done, and use your trial to honor and glorify Him wherever you go. (Daily In the Word)
