I overlooked a moment in the story of Jesus healing the blind man with mud for a long time.
I was so fascinated by the mud that I completely missed the second part of the story: the part where Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the pool.
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.
John 9:6-7
It was only after the man obeyed, following through with the command Jesus gave him, that he gained his sight.
This whole story paints such a beautiful, intimate picture of what life with Jesus is really like. It’s both Jesus reaching out with a healing touch and the man choosing to take a bold step of faith that makes up the miracle we read about today.
I can imagine it was difficult for the man to take that step—to physically walk down the stairs to the Pool of Siloam.
I wonder if his hands trembled and his knees shook as he made the walk down to the pool. I wonder if he was brimming with faith for the miracle at hand or if he was thinking to himself, “Don’t get your hopes up. You’ve gotten your hopes in the past, and things have not worked out for you.”
I wonder if Jesus already knew this man so intimately—knew all his inner doubts and dreams—that he knew how important it was to sew an action step into the healing process. If you look at all the different healings documented throughout the life of Jesus, you’ll see quickly that he was never conventional—he healed based on what the person in front of him needed most.
Just like the paralytic who was told to pick up his bed and walk the miracle out, this man had to move for his miracle.
It makes me think of a sign I have hanging above my desk in my office. It’s in a big black frame with scripted white letters that say, “Simple obedience changes everything.”
I keep the sign in this place because I need to look up at it often. I need reminders that sometimes the right things are also the hard things. I need reminders that so much of this faith life is about moving forward and following through with the nudges of the Holy Spirit—when it’s hard, when it’s dark, when it makes no sense, and when you feel a little crazy with the action step at hand.
A few years ago, I found myself stuck in a holding spot. I’d been at the helm of an organization I’d created many years ago, but I’d lost the passion and joy for the mission. I felt like I was going through the motions and, as a result, wasn’t being the best steward to the role God had entrusted me to.
Truthfully, I wanted to quit. I wanted to end the story and shut down the organization, but I never felt peace whenever I prayed. Whenever I brought the burden to God, I got the same answer: either silence or a simple “not yet.”
And then, through many hours of quiet time, the “not yet” morphed into a single step I knew I needed to take to move forward. Some conversations with my team. The humility for me to own up to where I hadn’t been a solid leader. So I took the step, and I felt a small burden lift. And after that step, another one emerged. And then another. Until I found myself, a few steps down the road, saying to God, “I did the steps you asked of me, but I am still so tired. I am so burnt out. I have no vision.”
Still, the “not yet” loomed. I waited.
A few weeks later, a fresh vision started pouring through, seemingly out of nowhere. It felt unexplainable and supernatural. And it would not relent. It felt sturdier than that kind of inspiration I’d ever experienced. It was filling my spirit. It made me excited for the future. It was giving me hope for something I’d long lost hope for. And all I could do was lift my hands and say, “I didn’t muster this up on my own. I was empty, and there’s no way anyone other than God is filling this tank right now.”
I think sometimes we get so comfortable with the rhythms of our faith and our own expectations that we forget that God can do these kinds of miracles. He doesn’t just meet us on the mountaintops but finds us in the trenches and blesses our spirits there, too. It could be that we’re missing out on the best parts.
I’ve been reminded lately that the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in our lives and the Holy Spirit comes with a fire. Sometimes that fire needs kindling. What’s the kindling? Our obedience. Our willingness to move forward. Our “yes” when the next step seems to make no sense.
It could be that there is a single step right in front of you– a nudge you’ve felt for a while—that you know you need to take. It’s the great “what’s next,” and it’s asking for your obedience, but you’re afraid, and you don’t know what’s around the corner. It might be something small, something you keep putting off because you deem it not that important. My encouragement for you today: lean in. Listen closely. Stay awake and alert. Simple obedience has the power to change absolutely everything.
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