Flip The Script (Part 2): Finding Clarity In Confusion
Something it’s not
You know what’s amazing? No matter what season of life you find yourself in, there’s always something new to discover. These last couple months have certainly been a different experience, and as such, there’s different things I’ve now come to realize. For starters, I’ve realized just how much I hate confusion.
I really like when things make sense in life. Black and white answers are clean & easy, knowing what to expect is comforting, and A + B = C works just fine with me. But confusion? Forget about it. Confusion is chaotic, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s crippling.
When things are most confusing, the natural tendency is to fan the flames of confusion. Everywhere you look there’s a new culprit for why we’re in the state we’re in. Some guy ate a disease-infested bat, somebody’s neighbor didn’t wear a hazmat suit when they walked to their mailbox, etc. There’s always a new question to be answered, a new piece added to this puzzling time. Confusion has become common, it’s become normal. But in a time like this, we need something uncommon, we need a new normal. Like—
clarity in confusion.
If you look at the story shared in John 9:1-12 (MSG), you find a lot in common with the time we’re living in now. In the story, Jesus comes across a man who has been blind from birth. Because of the religious “norms” of that time, Jesus’ disciples ask, “who’s to blame for this man’s blindness?” “Is it because his parents sinned or because of the sins of the man?” What were the disciples doing? They were looking for the cause of the condition, they were looking to assign blame.
Instead of explaining the origins of the man’s condition, Jesus brings a different level of clarity to the situation. He tells the disciples that they “have it all wrong, that they’re trying to turn this into something it’s not”. Jesus continues, “your focus is in the wrong place, instead of asking who’s to blame, you should be asking what God can do for this man”...“we need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, for as long as the sun shines, we should be working”.
What problem are you struggling to solve in your own life right now? Imagine just how different things could be if your confusion was replaced with clarity. If instead of trying to make total sense of your situation, you simply asked, “God, what do you want to reveal to me in this situation?”. Better yet, “what do you want to do through me today?”.
Where clarity lacks, confusion attacks. Now is the time to hit back, to regain your focus. Now is the time to—
look through a new lens.
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
There are things that make sense and things that don’t. Case in point, the very next thing that happened in our story. While His disciples are trying to wrap their minds around the truth-bomb Jesus set off, He ups the ante even more. Jesus spits on the ground, forms a muddy paste with the dirt, applies it to the blind man’s eyes, and then tells him to “go wash it off at the Pool of Siloam”. The man does as he’s told, and sure enough, his blind eyes are opened for the very first time.
the metaphor of the mud
The man had issues before Jesus ever arrived on the scene (most notably his blindness). Putting mud over his eyes didn’t create the man’s blindness, just like the fog you’re living under now didn’t create your issues. Is this a confusing & complicated time that creates some unique challenges of its’ own? Absolutely. Being quarantined with 5 kids (ages 6 & under) is no picnic, believe me.
But many of the things we struggle with mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, predate the muddy conditions we’re in now. So why did Jesus put mud on the man’s eyes? I don’t know. But what I do know is this, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV).
Perhaps Jesus saw the mud as a highlighter pen. So Jesus did what He does best, He highlighted the man’s most vulnerable area so that he could be washed free of his deepest problem. The mud didn’t compound the issue, it cleared it. What if this fog we’re all living under was never intended to blur our vision, but to give us vision like we’ve never had before? To finally see that—
something’s gotta give.
Something has to change in your life. It may be your perspective, your attitude, your habits, your relationships, your job, or any number of things. But the right changes always come from the right focus. In His divine wisdom, Jesus left so many lessons for us to learn from His example.
Every lesson teaches us to stop looking down at the problem & to look up to God. He’s the One who restores our focus & the One who gives us sight. And that’s when things start to change, when we start to get things right.
something to someone
The good news is, clarity can be found in unclear conditions. The bad news is, clarity can be lost when things become clear. The blind man in our story gained vision, he could finally see. Depending on your generation, you might even say that the man “was woke”. And yet, he was about to find out that the condition of his blindness wasn’t just skin deep—it ran much deeper than that.
People often say that “seeing is believing”, but the Jewish leaders at that time refused to believe that Jesus had healed this man. They cross-examined the formerly blind man, demanded answers from his parents, made accusations, they even demanded that the man change his story. And when he didn’t, they ran him out of town. The leaders had witnesses, they had proof, they had eyes to see, they had everything they needed…but they remained blind.
Even with his newfound sight, the man himself still failed to recognize Jesus for who He really was. But thankfully, John 9:35 (MSG) tells us that Jesus “heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him.” After finding the man, Jesus asks:
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The man replied, “point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.” Jesus answered, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?”. At last, the man sees Jesus for who He is, and in response, “believes in Him & worships Him”.
What a comfort it is to know that when you’re messed up, God shows up. Like a parent that hears their newborn baby’s cries, your Heavenly Father hears your cries—no matter how quietly you carry them, no matter how deep they run beneath the surface. Sometimes we don’t even know how to describe what our problem is, but our answer remains the same. Our hope isn’t found in something, it’s found in someone. That someone is Jesus Christ. He is the light at the end of our tunnel.
When you set your eyes on Him, He sets you free. When you truly see who Jesus is, you turn away from your problems & you turn to Him completely. Just as clarity can arrive in the unclear, so too can fulfillment in the midst of our emptiness. When you feel broken down, you’re best positioned for the blessing.
The blessing of His presence.
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today’s Takeaways
Where clarity lacks, confusion attacks
Jesus is the One who restores our focus & gives us sight.
When you set your eyes on Him, He sets you free.