Believe: Jesus has your best interest at heart!

“’Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’” (John 9:7-8 NIV)

Then Jesus said, “Go … wash in the pool of Siloam” (John 9:7a NIV).

At first, the blind man may have hesitated, confused about how going to Siloam would give him sight. He may have been wondering, “Why would Jesus make me do this when he could have simply healed me back there?”

But his desperation pushed him toward the Pool of Siloam, just as Jesus uses your desperation to push you toward your purpose.

The blind man may have heard the laughter and ridicule as people watched him stumble toward the pool: “Look at that fool with the mud on his face.” “Even we can’t see with mud in our eyes!” “Are you crazy enough to think you’ll really be healed?”

But the blind man could not be shamed from doing whatever it took to be healed. Jesus told him what to do, and if that meant washing his face in the Pool of Siloam, then that’s what he’d do, no matter what anyone else said.

Siloam means “sent.” Jesus sent and the man went, and once he’d washed his face, the man could see!

It is important to do exactly what Jesus says to do. When Jesus finished rubbing mud into the blind man’s eyes, he didn’t say, “Now quickly wipe away the mud.” He didn’t say, “Go to the nearest well for water and then wash your face.” He said, “Go to Siloam.”

When Jesus tells us what to do, we need to pay close attention to the details. Otherwise, we may act according to our assumptions, failing to follow Jesus, who not only knows what he is doing but also has your best interest at heart.

• In what ways have you tried to adapt God’s direction to what you think is best? Do you think you know better than God?

• Are you a “details” person? What steps can you take to better understand what God is telling you to do?

Jon Walker is managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Hope Devotionals and the author of Breakfast with Bonhoeffer.

This devotional © Copyright 2013 Jon Walker. All rights reserved. Used by permission.