His life was going nowhere fast. Reduced to begging and dependent on compassion from strangers, he had no one to depend on, no one to trust in and no hope for change. In that day, there was no cure. But one day, all that changed for blind Bartimaeus. Jesus stepped in to his story.
It began like every other day. He was sitting at the side of the road helpless and begging. But when he heard that Jesus was coming, Bartimaeus began to cry out for mercy (favor and compassion). He cried out to His Messiah in faith, asking Jesus to step in and change his circumstances.
There are times in life that I feel like Blind Bartimaeus… aware that without God’s mercy there is no hope for change… maybe I feel hopeless to change a sin pattern that I seem to struggle with over and over again, maybe it’s relationship struggle, or maybe like Bartimaeus, it’s a physical problem.
I think we can learn a lot from Bartimaeus. He knew he was helpless to change the situation he was in. Instead of just lamenting about it and accepting it (in an “Eeyore-like” way) as his lot in life, he pressed forward in faith. He risked failure and embarrassment when He came humbly asking Jesus to help. He ignored the rebuke of those who thought he was out of line for asking such a ridiculous thing from such a Man. He persisted in faith. And Jesus, in mercy stepped in.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:51-52.
“What do you want me to do for you?” What a question! The Savior of the world stopped for this one man and offered him compassion, mercy, and an answer to the prayer of his heart. And as a result of the faith of Bartimaeus, and the mercy of Jesus, this blind man received his sight.
What are areas in your life that you are helpless to change? Have you lost hope? Let’s learn from Bartimaeus and look to Jesus in faith. Let’s cry out to our Savior for mercy. Let’s look to Him, knowing His power, expecting His power to work in our lives, His desire to transform us, and His glory to be made great through us.
[copyright, 2010, Emily Schankweiler; A Sacrifice of Praise]
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