BLIND FAITH

Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of a blind man whom Jesus healed. I think it’s easy to skip over stories like this, especially when we’ve heard them so many times before. But I was reading this passage recently, and something stuck out to me. In the story, Jesus and his disciples are leaving town. As they do, a blind man named Bartimaeus is sitting in the road and immediately begins calling out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tries to shush him, but he continues to call out for Jesus, who calls him over. Jesus heals Bartimaeus because of his faith, and Bartimaeus continues to follow him. 

We can definitely learn a thing or two from Bartimaeus, who was literally participating in blind faith. He was unable to see Jesus or any of the previous miracles performed by Him, and yet he still called out in his broken state. In fact, his faith was so strong that he was undeterred by the people around him telling him to be quiet! In that moment, it would have been easy for Bartimaeus to give up when everyone seemed like they were against him. It would have been easy to be discouraged by the limitations of his circumstances and to stay quiet like everyone else wanted. But Bartimaeus knew that God could heal him, so he continued to shout so he could get his blessing. 

How many of us give up when things get too hard or we face pushback? How many of us face an issue and only pray about it once before considering it a lost cause? How many of us are swayed by the people around us, who tell us to stay where we are? Bartimaeus wanted to be healed, and he wanted to rise from the place he was in, so he fought for it. Jesus says in Luke 18:7-8, “...So, don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you; He will grant justice to them quickly!” If we persist in prayer for the things we need, God will give them to us. Although Bartimaeus had probably been praying for his blindness to be taken away for years, that didn't stop him. He came boldly and with full faith knowing that Jesus would heal him. God rewards our patience and endurance. It is easy to be distracted by what we see (or more accurately, by what we don’t see) and feel like God doesn’t hear our prayers, but as long as we keep coming in faith Heaven will respond. 

Bartimaeus is one of many people who continued to trust and hope in God regardless of what the circumstances looked like. The woman with the issue of blood suffered for 12 years, but her faith in God was so much that all she needed was to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. The Roman centurion didn’t need Jesus to encounter his son directly; he trusted Jesus’ power enough that he just needed Him to send the word. God often does not work on our timeline, and we have to trust that enough to continue asking for what we need. PERSIST IN PRAYER! If we believe in God’s goodness, then we must believe that He wants to bless us with all that we stand in need of.

~Nia Roberts