(Meditations on John 8-9). God has great purposes for allowing trials (Romans 8:28). In 2019, I developed an eye problem that left me without vision in half of one eye. An emergency surgery restored my vision, albeit with some lasting effects. I’m thankful that the Lord has worked through this trial to grow my dependence upon him.

Not long after my own vision trial began, I met a man who lost his vision after suffering a stroke. Although he had strayed from God, he evidently remembered that “he that is of God heareth God's words” (John 8:47). And so he allowed me to read Scripture to him. Thankfully, the words of God have the effect that God desires (Isaiah 55:11). After a short time, the man testified that God used his trial of blindness to open his eyes again to the truth of God’s words! Like the psalmist, he recognized that God used an affliction to call him back to obedience (Psalm 119:67). God had a great purpose for his trial!

In John 9, we see Jesus’s purposes for miraculously giving vision to a man who was blind from birth (John 9:1). Christ’s disciples asked if the man’s blindness had resulted from sin (John 9:2). The Lord replied that the man’s blindness had been allowed in order to create an opportunity for him to perform a miracle that would demonstrate his power (John 9:3). (Also recall John 5:36, John 10:25). Truly, the Lord had a great purpose for allowing this trial, too!

That man’s response to his trial also demonstrates God’s purposes for trials. First, the man responded by giving a testimony of Christ’s power to his neighbors (John 9:8-12) and to Jewish leaders (John 9:13-34). Because of his trial and his testimony of healing, many were challenged to consider Christ’s identity.

Second, the man came to faith in Christ as a result of his trial! After Jesus gave the man sight, the Lord asked him if he believed “on the Son of God” (John 9:35). The man humbly answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? (John 9:36). Jesus replied, “Thou hast both seen him and it is he that talketh with thee” (John 9:37). The man answered, “Lord, I believe” (John 9:38). Amen!

Third, the man’s trial and his miraculous healing by Christ resulted in his worship of Christ (John 9:38). To worship is to bow one’s heart in reverence and adoration. As a result of his trial, the man humbled himself before his Lord and Savior. Amen!

Believers should remember that the Lord has great purposes for trials. We should allow this truth to frame our response to every trial. Father, help us to “glory in tribulations” (Romans 5:3). And help us to be quick to testify to the grace that we have received from Christ to endure trials (2 Corinthians 12:9). Trials that result in victorious testimonies for Christ are victories indeed!

Learn more about why God allows trials at http://bit.ly/WhyTrials

See these Bible-listening tips for people with low vision.

People who are learning to live with low vision or blindness may encounter difficulty finding a good solution for listening to the Bible. While various apps and other solutions are available, many users have difficulty learning to navigate the content without the benefit of vision. Some potential solutions are discussed below.

King James Bible Radio. iPhone users may use the Apple music app to listen to the “King James Bible Radio.” This online radio station provides a continous 24-hour-a-day reading of the King James Bible. iPhone uses who are comfortable using Siri may simply say, “Hey Siri, play King James Bible Radio.” The benefit of this solution is its simplicity. There’s virtually no set-up required. The main drawback is that you may only listen to the passage that’s being read at any given time, i.e. there’s no option to navigate to a specific passage.
Podcast Bible. iPhone users may utilize the Apple Podcast app to listen to the King James Bible. The “Faith Comes by Hearing - King James Bible” podcast is an excellent solution that treats each chapter of the Bible as a podcast episode. To begin listening, search for the title in the Apple Podcast app. Then tap on the desired podcast and tap “subscribe.” Chapters may then be downloaded in advance or streamed.

Once the podcast is subscribed, iPhone users who are comfortable using Siri may simply say, “Hey Siri, play my podcasts.”
The main benefit of this solution is that it enables users to select chapters to read. A care-provider may pre-select chapters to download. Alternatively, a user may simply begin playback at the first episode (Genesis 1) and automatically proceed through the Bible. Again, each episode is a chapter of Sctipture.
iPhone Accessability Features. The iphone has a number of so-called accessability features that are designed to help those with low vision. These feature range from increasing the size of text to bolding text to a feature that reads that text on the screen. To explore these features, tap on the grey “settings” icon then tap on “Accessibility” in the Settings menu. Some of the features include:
1. Magnifier - Turn on this feature to use the iPhone camera to magnify anything in your surroundings. Once enabled, just triple-click the Home button to start the magnifier. When using the magnifier, you may use two fingers to “pinch in” or pinch out” to adjust the magnification.
2. Display & Text Size. Within this section, you may access features that bold text, increase the size of text and more.
3. Spoken Content - Turn this iPhone feature on to enable the phone to read text appearing on most screens. Once enabled, just use two fingers to swipe down from the top of the screen that you want to hear. The phone will automatically begin reading the screen.

Related articles:

Vision Trials & Victorious Testimonies

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