Cry Out to Jesus

Today I preached Blind Bartimaeus.

I think that if there is one thing that stands out in this passage it is Bartimaeus' persistence. Despite being told to hush up, Bartimaeus continued to cry out to the one who could bring healing & mercy upon him. And Jesus rewards this man's persistence.

We see this not only in the life of Jesus, but also in the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 18, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with persistence and to not lose heart. When Jesus is teaching about prayer in Luke 11, he instructs us to be bold in an insistent & persistent kind of way.

There in Luke 11, Jesus says to "ask, seek, and knock." "Knock" is an especially telling command to me. So often, when we knock, we do it in a way so as to not be too disturbing. It seems as if Jesus saying that we should be the complete opposite with our prayers. Shake the door down! Make some noise! Wake up God! Be Bold! Stand in the gap & let your cares be known to God.

It's important to me in the story of Blind Bartimaeus, also, that it says that "Jesus stopped." Jesus has big important things to do. This is the story RIGHT before he is about to go into Jerusalem. He's got a lot on his plate. But because of one persistent beggar ...

Jesus stopped!

And isn't that encouraging? It's so easy to think of my concerns as petty & insignificant. "Ehhhh, I don't need to bother God with that. It's not important. Other people have more troubles than I do; I'm so blessed! I'd come off as selfish if I ask God for that." Yet, the truth is, Christ cares for each one of us as if there was only one to care for. He leaves the 99 for the 1. He sweeps the house for the lost coin. In the middle of his procession from Jericho, he STOPS ...... and shows compassion to a blind man.

Don't be afraid to bring your cares & concerns before the Lord as if you're some reprobate before a judge. Feel free to open up before a Father who loves you. Cry Out to Jesus ...