Written by Guest Contributor Dora Lozano

“16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”  John 5:16-20 (NIV)

Here we have Jesus defending himself against the Jews because he healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day.  Can you imagine? Jesus has just healed a man who had been waiting for healing for thirty-eight years and people are actually angry about it!  

As we encounter challenges in life and overcome them the next set of overwhelming circumstances arrives a short time later.  We may even wonder, what are we doing wrong? Why are we suffering so much? The truth is that we are learning and our faith is growing.  There are greater works that we will do because we have been through things that we once thought were insurmountable. As our Father God taught Jesus, the Holy Spirit teaches us.  People may be amazed, some may even get angry at how we come out of the fire shining like silver! Regardless, our faith is stronger and we have real-life examples of how our faith preserved us.

Take a moment to thank Jesus for the hard times and ask him to remind you of your real-world struggles where he sustained you so that you can share them with those around you.  Our first-person experiences can be what leads someone to faith in Jesus.  

Lord Jesus, we thank you for being a witness to us of how to be good students of faith.  Remind us that we are never alone and to always turn to you when we are faced with the bad and the ugly of this human life.  Thank you for loving us and comforting us through every moment of our lives. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Guest Contributor Bio: Dora Lozano is a faithful follower of Christ living out her faith daily. Dora is the mother of two amazing children. The eldest is in their junior year at university. The youngest is in their sophomore year of high school. Dora has spent thirty years working in the California Community College system. Currently, Dora is an academic counselor for foster youth and homeless youth at a community college in Southern California. Dora’s personal mission statement is to “Love God, Do Good and Serve, Teach and Encourage Others”. Dora lives out her mission through her work and in her faith community where she serves on the usher team. Dora enjoys spending time with her children and her sweet puppy dog. As a family they enjoy being loud and silly, listening to a wide variety of music, taking road trips, making popcorn and watching movies. Dora is honored to be a guest contributor on the devotional for Mary E. White Ministries.

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