“Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'” – John 9:3
Living as we do in a fallen world means that there are many, many reasons for suffering and misfortune. The disciples tried to simplistically draw a line between a man having been born blind and sin by him or his parents. That isn’t necessarily how the effects of the Fall work! We do sometimes suffer because we or someone close to us sins but often we don’t. Sometimes we suffer because someone sins against us. Most commonly, we suffer because creation itself has been damaged by the fall into Sin (not because of a particular sin). From this broader corruption of God’s perfect creation comes natural disasters, diseases, disabilities, and death.
Nonetheless, God can work in and through suffering to be glorified. This man who’d lived his life in utter darkness would go on to live as a powerful testimony to the work of Jesus Christ Who opened his eyes. His story would become an extended illustration of spiritual sight and spiritual blindness, because He had been blind could see Jesus clearly when so many others couldn’t.
Many times we get hung up on laying blame or pointing fingers at the source of our suffering. We imagine that by understanding the cause or assigning blame we’ll gain some key insight that will improve our situation. Such insights won’t improve anything! What truly improves our situation is when we invite God to work in and through our suffering. When we lean into His strong presence and pray not simply for relief but for God to be truly glorified through our suffering, no matter what that looks like. When our prayers shift in this manner and we welcome God’s mighty work to be revealed through us, we meet God in our situation rather than trying to direct him from afar. There’s great healing, whether spiritual, emotional, or physical when we finally become unconcerned about root cause and instead focus on God’s glory.