Furthermore...

This whole weekend thing is still really bothering me....so many aspects of it. Maybe because it hits so close to home, the comment about birth defects being God's punishment has really stuck in my mind. I am NOT the kind of person to just blow something off because I don't like it. I have asked God, time and time again, if there's something I missed or am missing...something I did or am doing...that caused the clubfoot issue...or is continuing it, rather than allowing it to be healed. Although I do think there's *something* there...it has nothing to do with *punishment*.

In fact, as I was talking to someone about it, I remembered the story in John 9 about the man who was born blind. It TOTALLY negates the *punishment* statement!

John 9:1-5 (Message Bible)

1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3-5Jesus 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. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light."

I highlighted the part in red because it's what directly opposes the *punishment theory*. What I see here...is that some things just happen. And it's more important to look FORWARD at what God can (and will) do in the situation, then to look back at the *why*. That's where we all tend to get caught up.

We're still dealing with that with David's accident! Rick Renner dealt with that in the Sparkling Gem I got in my inbox this morning. Although I don't agree that satan can just walk around and do what he wants in our lives without our permission, I do believe that because of the presence of sin and the imperfection of mankind, things happen that can throw us off course of what God has for us. It's in these times that WE have to make the choice to stay on track and not let what we *see* dissuade us from where we KNOW God has us going!