The Weekly Word Lent Series - A Devotion for the Fourth Week of Lent
During the six weeks of Lent, we are offering a special devotional series on the theme of “I AM.” We invite you to set aside a few minutes each week to join us in exploring who God is and how and where He is present in our daily lives.
The Scripture for today is from John 9:1-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Twenty-first-century life is a fast-paced blur of work, commuting, chores, errands, taking care of children and loved ones, socializing and the 24/7 news cycle. We do everything fast – we drive fast, eat fast and communicate fast on social media and on our phones. We skim through headlines on the Internet, watch television while we scroll through our in-box and multi-task two or three projects at once. We text at stoplights and are too addicted to our phones to make eye contact with our children when they talk to us.
Rarely do we slow down. Rarely are we still. Rarely do we focus on just one thing at a time.
And then we are mystified as to why, in the midst of our frenzied pace, we don’t see God at work in our lives. “Where is He?” we ask. “Why does He feel far away?” we wonder.
In many ways, we aren’t much different from the blind man in this story. Although most of us have physical sight, we are often blind to the presence of God in our daily lives. Our busyness and all the “extras” in our lives are standing in the way of His light. We can’t see Him through the detritus of our daily living.
It’s time to wash our lives of some of the grit that blurs our vision. We are the blind man, and God is sending us to the Pool of Siloam to cleanse ourselves. Let us wash away the extraneous and the unnecessary so that we may see with fresh, clear, uninhibited eyes again – so that we may see the Light of the world as clear as day.
Heavenly Father, my vision is blurred by all the busyness and extra stuff in my life. I can’t see You or hear You through the fog of Netflix, Facebook and Spotify. My work schedule is maxed out, leaving no room for You. Help me wash my life of what’s not needed. Help me free up time and space so that I may see You more clearly. Amen.