SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 38
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. [Isaiah 38:17]
What were the benefits for Hezekiah: he faced his own mortality, he realized his dependence on God, he saw the amazing miracle of time reversed, he experienced God’s healing, he understood his sin and God’s mercy, his life became a testimony to others.
What about my own struggles, how have they benefited me?

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 work of God might be displayed in his life. [John 9:1-3]
From what Jesus says, the primary issue for us in our suffering (in this case blindness from birth) is not our sin but God’s mercy and power – the work of God displayed in my life.
This is not to say that sin is not an issue; sin is the cause of all sorrow and suffering and sickness, and ultimately of death (the pit of destruction).
But from the beginning, after the world was plunged into the misery and curse of sin, God decided to display His goodness and mercy by how He worked in our lives.
If sin was the primary issue, He would have judged and punished us immediately.
Instead God postpones the judgment final , and chooses to use our lives, our suffering, our circumstances as an occasion for displaying His mercy and love.

God does not cause suffering, it is the natural outcome of the curse of sin.
But God directs this suffering for a greater purpose, to benefit the many!
We may think this is cruel, but we have a very narrow, short-sighted perspective.
God knows how best to benefit the most amount of people possible; the ripple effect of the work of God displayed in peoples’ lives is greater than we realize.
I have seen God use cancer to benefit a host of people – from doctors and nurses to families and friends, from strangers and politicians to whole communities, even to the other side of the planet.
I’ve seen some people healed, and others not, but with faith-sight, I see the work of God displayed in their lives.

Today as I reflect on my own journey, on my own struggles (which seem small compared to that of others), I choose to trust that God has me on this journey for a reason – for my benefit, as well as for others.
Everything God does is an expression of His mercy (not His judgment, that comes later); every situation and struggle is His way of helping me, drawing me back to Him, blessing me and blessing others through me.
Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. [Isaiah 38:17]

PRAYER:
Lord, I hate the curse and misery of sin, and I hate the fact that people have to suffer and die. But thank You for the story of Hezekiah and the blind man, reminding me to look for Your love and power displayed through our difficult circumstances, for our benefit!