Despite what I wrote yesterday about the folly of pursuing too many “why” questions, the truth is that we can create a positive answer to “why.” That’s what Jesus did as John records the story in chapter 9. The disciples brought a blind man to Jesus and said “Why was he born blind? Did he sin, or was it his parents who sinned?” Jesus replied, “Neither. And you are missing the point. It is so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

When you and I face difficult and troubling situations, every one of them can be turned into a majestic work that glorifies God, if we choose to let it do so. I’m not saying your difficulty doesn’t hurt. It does! I’m not saying there’s not pain. There is! But I am saying that even the most perplexing and awful situations are fertile ground for our growth and God’s glory.

If you aren’t already on a growth track, and don’t have a bit of spiritual wisdom under your belt those words may make no sense to you. But take it from those of us who have a little more time in the saddle. Everything you experience is an opportunity for positive growth and development to make you a better you while increasing and enhancing God’s reputation among those around you. Therefore, your responsibility is to one-step-at-a-time, put one foot in front of the other, live faithfully, be thankful in all things, be diligent, be worshipful, be generous and gracious despite how you feel internally, and display the character of Jesus living in you.

I’ll never grasp the complicated “why” imbedded in most situations, but that’s actually thinking at a low level. I need to raise my thinking to a higher level and realize with confidence that I by having an open and teachable spirit and a heart full of gratitude—even difficult situations—can result in my being better among men, and His being bigger among men. And that’s more than enough.