Open Our Eyes: God's Work Through Brokenness and Healing

Mar 09, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: God works through physical means to convey His grace.

The Lord created a physical world and declared it good. He did not design our faith to be purely abstract or intellectual. Instead, He often chooses to use tangible elements—like bread, water, oil, and even the humanity of Christ—as vessels for His power and healing. These outward signs become conduits for His invisible grace, meeting us in our embodied existence. The whole earth is filled with His glory, waiting to reveal His goodness to those with eyes to see. [32:12]

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7, ESV)

Reflection: Consider the physical elements used in worship, like bread and wine. In what practical ways can you engage more intentionally with these tangible signs to receive the grace God offers through them?

Day 2: Our human perspective often focuses on fault and blame.

When difficulty or tragedy strikes, our natural inclination is to search for someone to hold responsible. We seek to understand brokenness by assigning blame, believing this will help us fix the problem or make sense of the pain. This fixation can prevent us from seeing the deeper reality of a situation and the new thing God might want to do. It is a limited way of seeing that Jesus directly challenges. [40:23]

His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:2-3, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life or community are you currently focused on determining "whose fault it is"? How might shifting your focus to ask "What is God's redemptive purpose here?" change your response?

Day 3: God invites us to see our circumstances with spiritual eyes.

The Lord does not see as we see; He looks upon the heart and perceives the hidden opportunities within our struggles. He calls us to a different way of perceiving the world—one that looks beyond the immediate problem to discern where His goodness can be manifested. This requires faith to believe that He is at work even in the midst of confusion, pain, and things that seem irredeemably broken. [44:32]

And the Lord said, "Do you do well to be angry?" (Jonah 4:4, ESV)

Reflection: What is one challenging situation you are facing that feels overwhelming or frustrating? Ask God to give you His perspective on it. What might He be inviting you to see or do within that circumstance?

Day 4: Difficulties can become opportunities for God's work to be shown.

The brokenness of our world is not God's original design, but He is a master at bringing life out of death and redemption out of chaos. Our trials and hardships can become the very places where His power is most clearly displayed. In these moments, we have the chance to manifest Christlike virtues such as courage, patience, and compassion, becoming a tangible sign of His presence to others. [45:25]

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: Can you recall a past difficulty that, in time, became an opportunity for God's grace to be shown? How does that memory encourage you to trust Him with a current challenge?

Day 5: The cross is the ultimate display of God's redemptive power.

The greatest injustice in history—the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God—became the means for our greatest gift: salvation and eternal life. God took the most horrific act of brokenness and flipped it completely around, using it to accomplish His glorious purpose of reconciliation. This is the pattern of His kingdom, offering us resurrection and new creation through the very things that appear to be defeat. [49:52]

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

Reflection: As you reflect on the cross, how does it reshape your understanding of what God can do with the pain and brokenness in your own life?

Sermon Summary

The liturgy opens with confession, intercession, and petitions for peace, naming global conflicts, local needs, and many specific people in prayer. A blessing for children and a call to calm strength and patient wisdom frames the community’s care. Attention then turns to the Gospel episode in which Jesus mixes mud and saliva, anoints a blind man, and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam; this concrete act becomes the hinge for teaching about how God works. The physical means—spit, mud, water—receive theological weight as signs through which divine power and grace flow into fragile human life. Scripture scenes from Samuel’s anointing of David reinforce the point that outward rites can carry inward gifts: the Lord looks on the heart and the Spirit comes upon the chosen.

The narrative challenges the instinct to find a human culprit for suffering. Instead of answering the disciples’ demand to assign blame, the episode reframes suffering as an occasion for the works of God to appear. Real brokenness exists, but God moves within it to heal, redeem, and reveal glory. Contemporary illustrations—hurricane aftermaths, a noisy car wash next to a struggling church—show how vision shifts action: some fixate on fault while others notice openings for service, reconciliation, and new relationships. The cross stands as the supreme example: the worst injustice becomes the instrument of resurrection, offering a pattern for God’s economy of reversal.

The faithful receive an invitation to learn new ways of seeing. Regular engagement with Scripture, attentive prayer, and readiness to obey simple commands cultivate the kind of faith that responds to odd, sacramental gestures and acts them out. The eucharistic prayers and communal worship conclude the service by reinforcing that God meets people in tangible means—bread, wine, water, oil, touch—and calls the gathered to go and manifest his mercy in their neighborhoods and nations.

Key Takeaways

1. God uses physical signs The gospel shows God working through tangible elements—mud, saliva, water—to heal. Those signs do not replace inner faith; they mediate God’s presence into bodily life and reveal that the created order serves as a venue for divine action. Attending to ordinary things can become a practice of discerning grace in daily life. [32:03]
2. Faith requires obedient response The blind man obeys a strange command to wash and thus participates in his healing. Obedience transforms information into encounter: following a directive opens a space where God’s power meets human receptivity. Genuine faith shows itself in concrete acts that risk seeming odd or counterintuitive. [34:58]
3. Suffering invites God’s works Jesus reframes a question of blame into an opportunity for God’s glory to appear. Hardship does not always signal divine punishment; instead it can expose occasions for mercy, courage, and communal service. Looking for God’s possible work within pain moves hearts from accusation to compassionate action. [40:44]
4. See with God’s eyes Samuel’s selection of David and the healing narrative teach that God judges the heart, not appearances. Cultivating spiritual sight alters choices, relationships, and ministry priorities, enabling responses that foster renewal rather than recrimination. Practice Scripture and prayer to retrain perception toward God’s priorities. [43:07]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:12] - Confession and Opening Prayer
[10:07] - Collect for the Day
[11:02] - Prayers for Peace and Church
[13:05] - Intercessions and Named Prayers
[15:32] - Blessing of the Children
[28:12] - Reflections from the Holy Land
[29:58] - The Healing: Mud, Spit, Siloam
[32:03] - The Sacramental Shape of Healing
[36:22] - Who Causes Suffering?
[43:07] - Seeing as God Sees (Samuel & David)
[49:18] - The Cross: Brokenness to New Life
[54:26] - Invitation to Prayer and Communion
[1:10:19] - Eucharistic Prayer and Communion
[1:26:31] - Dismissal and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: John 9:1-7, 35-38 (ESV)
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing... Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Observation questions

What physical elements did Jesus use to heal the blind man, and what specific action did he command the man to do afterward?
What was the disciples' initial question when they saw the man born blind, and how did Jesus reframe their focus?
What was the final response of the man who was healed after Jesus revealed his identity to him?
In the story from the sermon, what did the pastor next door initially see as a problem, and what did he eventually see as an opportunity? [51:03]

Interpretation questions

Why might Jesus have chosen to use spit and mud, physical and seemingly mundane elements, to perform this healing instead of just speaking a word?
Jesus said the man's blindness happened so that "the works of God might be displayed in him." How does this change the way we might view suffering and difficulty, moving us away from looking for someone to blame?
The man's healing was completed not when the mud was applied, but only after he obeyed the command to go and wash. What does this sequence reveal about the relationship between God's action and our responsive obedience?
The cross is presented as the ultimate example of God bringing life from brokenness. [49:18] How does the reality of the cross provide a framework for understanding how God can work in the painful and unjust situations we encounter?

Application questions

God often uses tangible, physical means—like bread, wine, water, and even mud—to convey his grace and power. [32:03] What are some of the ordinary, physical elements in your daily life that could become moments to discern God's presence and work?
The blind man participated in his healing by obeying a command that might have seemed strange or counterintuitive. [34:58] Is there a simple, perhaps odd-seeming command or prompting from God that you have been hesitant to obey? What would it look like to take a step of faithful obedience this week?
When difficulty or brokenness occurs, the instinct is often to ask, "Whose fault is this?" [40:44] Think of a current struggle, either personal or in your community. How could you shift your focus from assigning blame to asking, "Where is the opportunity here for God's goodness to be shown?"
God sees not the outward appearance but the heart. [43:07] Are there people or situations in your life that you are judging based solely on what you can see on the surface? How could you ask God to give you his perspective to see the heart and the potential for his work?
The story of the car wash shows how a nuisance was turned into an opportunity for relationship and ministry. [51:59] What is an irritation or obstacle in your life right now that God might want to use as an opening for a new connection or an act of service?
Cultivating spiritual sight happens through regular engagement with Scripture and attentive prayer. [43:07] What is one practical way you can be more consistent in these practices to retrain your perception to align with God's priorities?

Sermon Clips

29s

#LifeAintFair

“The disciples are perplexed. We don't know Jesus. What should we make about this? And Jesus understands that actually the reality is far darker than they think because it's not only bad people or people who we think deserve it that experience tragedy and pain and loss and heartbreak. Life, as my mom used to always say, life's not fair, and it's not been fair to this guy. Horribly evil things happen to otherwise faithful people.”

24s

#CrossRevealsInjustice

“And if you wanna see the supreme example of that, of what happens in this world, look at the cross where the most beautiful and pure and just and good person ever to walk the earth was tortured to death in a miscarriage of justice where all the bad happened to him who was most good.”

27s

#BeyondBlame

“When things go wrong, and they do and they will, I mean, in families, and communities, and churches, and countries, stuff goes wrong and people screw up and and sometimes a whole bunch of things go wrong all at the same time. Things go wrong. It is easy to say, okay, who's to blame? Who should lose their job? But do we also think to ask the question that Jesus has in mind here?”

25s

#FindGodsOpportunity

“In all of this ugly and broken and screwed up as it is, where's the opportunity to show and manifest the goodness and the glory of the living God? Where's the opportunity to do his work in this? That God's will really is done on earth. Do we ask that question?”

21s

#JesusHealsBrokenness

“It's almost like Jesus is going out of his way not to answer the question the way the disciples framed it, but to try to change their focus. Y'all are focused on whose fault is this. I wanna point you to the power of God to change this situation, and to heal, and to renew, and to save.”

25s

#ChurchAsHandsAndFeet

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned, here's an opportunity for me to do the will and the work of God right here. The situation is what it is. It's broken. It's chaotic. It's not the way God originally intended when he created the world and called it good. He didn't want this sort of thing to happen. And here's Jesus and he says, and I'm going to set this broken thing right. That's what I do.”

28s

#HeavenMeetsEarth

“And that's when the church became and showed itself to be a sacramental sign in this world through which the work of God was happening. That's what we talk about being the hands and feet of Christ sometimes. A physical sign through which God is working. Jesus wants to change the way we see. To change the way we see ourselves and our situations and our lives.”

25s

#FaithInAction

“And that might seem strange to us because the way we've been raised in the culture that we've been raised in, but the Lord delights to bring the heavenly and the earthly together in the most intimate ways. He delights to work through these unexpected signs. And when he works through any way he works to give his grace to his people, what is required of us is faith.”

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