Wednesday, January 26, 2022
And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you." Mark 10:49
The Only Hope
There was a Savior passing by. There was a crowd yelling and jumping up and down with excitement. And there was a blind man, sitting by the road. He heard the others in the crowd and knew it was Jesus and he began to cry out over and over again. The people around him told him to be quiet. They probably stood in front of him. I would imagine that it would be hard for his cries to carry over the cries of the crowd, especially from sitting on the ground, especially with people in front of you.
Jesus heard. He heard the meek cry of pain that cut through the crowd. He was always listening for the cries of the ones who needed Him the most, and those cries are more important to Him than the shouts of hallelujahs. No matter how hard the others tried to get him to be quiet, he wouldn’t stop because he knew he needed Jesus more than anything. He knew that Jesus was his only hope.
Jesus Stopped. He not only heard, but He stopped. The Son stood still, and He pays the ultimate tribute to one in need – He gave him attention. I think it is important to note here that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, where He was going to be crucified. He could have easily said He didn’t have time because He had more important things to do, but He didn’t. He stopped because He cared about a blind beggar on the side of the road as much as He cared about anyone. He mattered to Jesus, his pain, his hopelessness, and his healing.
Jesus Called. Mark records, Jesus stopped and said, Call him here. He didn’t just stop and wave, He asked the disciples to call Bartimaeus to come. Jesus used His disciples to make the call and they were obedient to share the message of encouragement - Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.
Jesus Listened.
Jesus hears every cry. He sees every tear that falls and if you think you are not important enough for Him to pay attention to, just remember the blind beggar on the road that He stopped for on His way to the cross. He stops and listens when we call out. He also bids us to come just like He did Bartimaeus. When we are in the blindness of hopelessness it can be scary to take even one step. But like Bartimaeus, when we know that our only hope lies in coming to Jesus, even the darkness will not keep us down. Take courage and stand up today! He is listening to you and calling out of the dark hopelessness to Him.
Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you!
