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When God Doesn’t Make Sense: Learning to Trust Him in the Mystery
All of us try to make sense of the world we live in. We long for clarity. We search answers to make our life make sense. We want to be able to look at a situation—especially a hard one—and explain it in a way that feels settled and reasonable. And if we’re honest, we often try to organize our understanding of God into something that feels predictable… something that fits neatly into the way we think things should work.
But as we walk with Him, we begin to realize that God does not fit into the boxes we create for Him.
This past week, I found myself thinking about that in a very ordinary, everyday way. We’ve been replacing the flooring in our home—something that has needed to be done for years. After raising three boys and living on the same carpet for over two decades, it was time. I’ve been looking forward to the end result for a long time, imagining how fresh and new everything will feel.
And yet, the process itself has been anything but simple.
It’s inconvenient. It’s messy. It requires patience and flexibility. And more than once, I’ve found myself wishing I could skip straight to the finished product without having to walk through the disruption that comes first.
Isn’t that often how we feel when God is at work in our lives?
We long for the outcome—the healing, the clarity, the breakthrough—but the way He chooses to get us there doesn’t always align with what we expected. And sometimes, it doesn’t make sense at all.
That’s exactly what we see in John 9.
Rethinking What We Believe About Suffering
In this chapter, we are introduced to a man who has been blind since birth. This wasn’t a temporary struggle or a recent hardship—it was the defining reality of his life. Everyone around him knew him as the blind man who begged in the street. His condition was his identity.
As Jesus and His disciples come upon him, the disciples ask a question that reflects a deeply held belief of their time: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
It is an honest question, and one that reveals how they understood suffering. In their minds, there had to be a direct cause—a specific sin that led to this man’s condition. They were trying to make sense of what they saw by placing it into a framework that felt logical.
And in many ways, we still do the same thing today.
When we encounter hardship—whether in our own lives or in the lives of others—we often search for a reason that will help us make sense of it. We may quietly wonder if something was done wrong, or if a particular outcome is the result of a specific choice. While Scripture does teach that our choices have consequences, this passage reminds us that not every difficult circumstance can be traced back to a personal failure.
Jesus responds in a way that shifts their understanding. He tells them that neither the man nor his parents sinned in a way that caused his blindness. Instead, He explains that this situation exists so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
This response invites us into a deeper understanding of suffering.
We live in a fallen world—a world that has been touched by sin in ways that affect every part of life. Brokenness, sickness, and hardship are part of that reality. But not every painful experience is a direct result of something we have personally done wrong.
When we assume that it is, it can shape our hearts in unhealthy ways. We may begin to view others in a judgemental way, believing their suffering must be deserved. Or we may turn that same thinking inward, carrying guilt and condemnation in difficult seasons where we believe our hardship must be a result of our own mistakes or sin, but it’s not. The truth is God is not condemning us at all, but instead wants to help us.
Jesus does not approach suffering with accusation, but with compassion, with purpose, and with a desire to reveal the heart of God.
When God Works in Unexpected Ways
As the story continues, Jesus does something unusual. Rather than simply speaking healing over the man, He bends down, makes mud with His saliva, and places it on the man’s eyes. He then instructs him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.
It is an unusual method, especially when we consider that in other moments, Jesus healed with a word or a touch. There are even times when healing took place from a distance, without any physical interaction at all.
There is no single formula for how God works.
If we are not careful, we can begin to expect God to move in our lives the same way He has in the past—or the same way we have seen Him move in the lives of others. We form expectations based on what feels familiar, and we can become so anchored to those expectations that we struggle to recognize Him when He chooses to work differently.
Yet God is not limited by our preferences or our past experiences.
There are times when His work in our lives may feel unfamiliar. It may stretch us. It may feel uncomfortable. But that does not mean He is absent. In fact, it may be an invitation to know Him more deeply.
Perhaps you have prayed for something and found that the answer didn’t come in the way you expected. Maybe it unfolded slowly, or through circumstances that required more trust than you anticipated. In those moments, it can be tempting to question whether God is truly at work.
But what if He is simply working in a way that is different from what you imagined?
Faith That Responds Before It Sees
When Jesus gives this man instructions to go and wash, the man is still blind. He has not yet experienced healing. And yet, he chooses to respond in obedience.
He gets up. He goes to the pool. He washes.
And in that process, his sight is restored.
This is a picture of faith—not as a feeling, but as a response. It is a willingness to move forward based on what God has said, even when we do not yet see the outcome.
There are seasons in our lives when God invites us into that same kind of faith. He may place something on our hearts or lead us in a direction that requires trust before clarity. And while it can feel uncertain, it is often in those steps of obedience that we begin to see His work unfold and find that He has healed us in the process of obedience.
A Life Transformed and a Testimony That Remains
After the man is healed, those around him struggle to recognize him. His transformation is so complete that people begin to question whether he is even the same person.
When he is brought before the Pharisees and questioned, he does not attempt to explain every detail or defend every aspect of what has happened. Instead, he offers a simple and honest testimony: “I was blind, and now I see.”
He does not claim to understand everything about Jesus. He does not have all the theological answers. But he knows what has happened in his life.
As his story continues, he faces rejection from those who refuse to believe. And yet, in that place of rejection, Jesus comes to him again—this time revealing Himself more fully. The man responds in worship, not just because his physical sight has been restored, but because his understanding of who Jesus is has been transformed.
Growing in Our Understanding of God
This story invites us to consider how we see God.
While we can know Him truly through His Word, there is always more to learn, more to understand, and more to experience. Our perception of Him deepens as we walk with Him, and sometimes that growth requires us to release ideas or assumptions that no longer align with who He is revealing Himself to be.
When we hold too tightly to our own understanding, we can unintentionally limit the ways we allow God to work in our lives. But when we come to Him with open hearts, willing to say, “Lord, show me who You really are,” we create space for Him to expand our vision.
He is not confined to our expectations or liminations. He is not restricted by our past experiences. And He is always at work in ways that draw us closer to Him.
A Closing Encouragement
If you find yourself in a season where God’s ways feel unclear or unfamiliar, you are not alone.
He sees you. He understands what you are walking through. He is not limited by what you can currently see or understand.
Perhaps this is an invitation to trust Him more deeply—not because everything makes sense, but because His heart toward you is for good.
Let’s continue to walk this path together, allowing Him to lead, to teach, and to reveal Himself in ways that draw us closer to Him.
A Short Prayer
Father,
Thank You that You are greater than our understanding and faithful in every season. When we are tempted to rely on what we can see or explain, would You lead us back to trust in You.
Open our eyes to see You more clearly. Help us to release any assumptions that keep us from knowing You more fully. Give us the faith to follow You, even when the way feels unfamiliar.
Touch the places in our hearts that need healing, and remind us that You are always near.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
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