How lonely life must have been for the man in John 9! Born blind, sitting on the sidelines, begging day after day as people passed him by. Or perhaps worse, as they talked about him right in front of him, as if he was also born deaf. Surrounded by people, yet cut off from them all. Alone in the darkness.
It would be easy to pity him. And yet, what if he was the lucky one? What if his circumstances made him ready to see what so many around him missed? What if long hours of isolation had made him hungry for true connection? What if years of hearing people jabber away as they went up and down his street made him able to discern truth from lies and schemes? What if a lifetime of darkness made him desperate for the Light of the world? When Jesus Christ revealed Himself to this man, it was instant recognition. He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Him.
In the past several weeks, I keep feeling a tug on my spirit. Have you felt it? It’s as if a Voice is prompting me to pray for people all over the world who don’t yet know Christ. In the morning, even before my feet hit the floor, they are on my mind. When I go to bed (later these days than I should because I don’t have work to keep me on schedule) they are heavy on my heart. Thousands upon thousands of souls, isolated, alone in the darkness. Can you feel the weight of them, my brothers and sisters? There is a collective ache that has slowly risen up, a desperation for connection, for comfort. Stripped of the daily grind, people are facing the scary thought that much of what they spend their hours doing is meaninglessness.
It would be easy to pity them. And yet, what if they are the lucky ones? What if the COVID–19 pandemic has made them ready to see what they have been missing? What if God is working their circumstances to lay bare their need for a Savior? Will you pray with me against the schemes of the enemy, who wants them to remain blind and isolated? Will you pray that soon, perhaps today, they will be able to declare, “One thing I do know, that although I was blind, now I see”?
And what about us? Is there something that God wants to open believers’ eyes to as well? What if our circumstances are priming us to see Christ in a new way? I am praying that today, we will welcome a deeper, more personal, life-changing connection with the Son of Man. He loved us so much that He endured the painful isolation of the cross so that in Him, we can enjoy an eternity of light-filled connection with God!