LOOK INSTEAD

look (verb): to direct the eyes

instead (adverb): as a substitute; first, rather

Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do…”  John 9:3-4

Large crowds stress me out. I can never understand why so many people decide to go to the same place on the same day at the same time as me. Unless I’m at college football game, of course. Somehow waiting in long lines and bumping shoulders doesn’t seem so bad when everybody is wearing purple and cheering for the same team.

One fall Saturday as I was sitting in a sold-out Husky Stadium, I watched some people trying to find each other in the crowd of 70,000+. One guy in particular was speaking loudly into his cell phone, scanning the bleachers for his friends.

“Where should I be looking?” he asked.

That is such a good question.

Where should we be looking?

There are so many things that attract our eyes and influence our thinking. So many possible places and people to turn to for answers. Our hearts and minds are constantly surrounded by an overwhelming crowd of distractions as we look for something that makes us feel secure.

In this verse, the disciples were looking for some reassurance, too. They wanted an explanation for something they didn’t completely understand. As Jesus stopped to heal a man who had been blind from birth, they wanted to know: was he blind because of the sins his parents committed? Or was it because of his own sins? Those were the only options that they could think of.

But Jesus told them they were looking the wrong way. They weren’t even close to where he was on this. They were looking in the punishment section, and he was in an entirely different arena.  

Jesus came to show us all where we should be looking.

It is so easy to forget that he always has a higher and better purpose, and that he longs to reveal it to us. When my sons are struggling, when I deal with hard situations at school, when someone I love gets a scary diagnosis, or when my friends are hurting, I tend to look all over–often in the wrong places–for the answers. I try to find neat and tidy (and quick) resolutions.

Like the disciples, I question Jesus. We all do.

And he hears us.  He helps us redirect our gaze high above the confines of this world and our limited understanding. He reminds us that the first and best place that we should look is to him and his words of truth.  Everything we read and believe about him brings light to our darkness and reveals his faithfulness to make all things new.

Invite Him in: If you are having trouble finding Jesus in it all, ask him to shine his light on what you are going through. No matter how dark or crowded or scary it feels, he is with you and he loves you. He will open your eyes to see his miracle-working power as you trust him to bring good.