Thursday, January 27, 2022
Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:50-52
How Desperate Are You
We have been reading about Bartimaeus this week. He was a blind man who sat by the road and begged for his existence. Most people didn’t pay much attention to him. He was just there – day after day. Until one day when Jesus passed by and Bartimaeus called out to Him. Jesus stopped and called the blind man to come to Him. Bartimaeus doesn’t hesitate or think twice – he obeys immediately. What an example for us in our Christian walk!
Maybe Bartimaeus figured that Jesus wasn’t going to pay any attention to him. Everyone around him treated him like he was not important, that he didn’t matter and that there was nothing they could do for him. His fate was sealed. He had been a blind beggar all his life and he would be for the rest of his life. But Jesus had a different answer.
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
As soon as Bartimaeus heard this, he jumped up and went to Jesus immediately. He never hesitated. The scripture says he jumped up – not easy for a blind man! First, he threw off his cloak which was probably a sense of security for him. Bartimaeus LET GO of what he had clung to for security and protection.
Letting go - It’s the ability, as well as the willingness, to relinquish control of and obsession about plans and situations and other people, both past and present.
That is the thing that holds us back sometimes when Jesus calls us to come. We are comfortable and secure and “safe.” Or we are insecure and lack the confidence (of course we do! We find confidence in Him when we step out in faith!) That is when faith is supposed to kick in – but do we have faith like Bartimaeus? Do we jump up and throw off everything that “feels safe?” Even with all our senses working we hesitate – until we are desperate enough. Bartimaeus was desperate enough. He realized that he had nothing to hope for but what Jesus could give him.
Jesus asked him what he wanted him to do for him and Bartimaeus asked Jesus to restore his sight. If you are reading this devotional, you most likely have your eyesight. It is something we take for granted until we don’t have it. He could have asked for anything, but he just wanted to be able to see. And Jesus healed him. Can you imagine being blind your whole life and your sight is restored, and the first thing you see if the face of Jesus? It is like that for us to degree. We live in sin and blindness and then one day – He is in our face, peeling off the scales of blindness and then we can see.
And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well."
Complete faith is obedient faith. Mark tells us that when Bartimaeus received his sight, he "followed Jesus along the road." And those who witnesses his healing and the ones he told the story to – their lives were changed.
So, how desperate are you? How bad is it? How sick is your heart? How physically drained are you from this battle? Are you still comfortable and content in your blindness, under your warm blanket? Or are you ready? Are you ready to throw off everything that is holding you back from the healing and redemption you can ONLY find in Him? Are you ready to cry out and come to Him? He is waiting for you to come without hesitation, trusting in Him in complete faith.
