Desperation

By Bill Elliff

Things happen with God when we are desperate. There was a man, Bartimaeus, who had been blind from birth. Just pause and think of this: He had never seen a face, not even his own in a reflection, never looked at his own mother, never witnessed the sun by day or the moon by night. Complete darkness.

Those without sight usually have incredibly keen hearing. No doubt as he sat by the roadside he had picked up all the conversation about Jesus who was healing all. And one day, Jesus came near.

“When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to CRY OUT and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47)

It was not a calm request, but a fervent cry. Some sternly told him to be quiet but “he kept crying out all the more,” repeating his request over and over and over again. He did not know if he would be healed, but he was certainly going to be heard.

GOD IS MOVED BY A DESPERATE, PERSISTENT CRY.

Jesus stopped, turned to this desperate man, and asked him what he really wanted. He then acknowledged his cry as an act of authentic faith. Bartimaeus was helpless and knew it, but was turning to the only One who he believed could change him. Jesus is moved by faith and promptly and fully healed him.

It is just a few lines in the paragraph, but what a mighty miracle happened in an instant! Bartimaeus would never be the same. And God would use his story to challenge millions through the ages about the power of a desperate, faith-filled cry.

OUR ABORTIVE SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Our great problem is that we think we are not blind. Or, once identifying some area of helplessness in our lives or the lives of others, we think we can fix it or manage it ourselves. God lets us strut in our pride and independence as we continue in blindness with the results of a humanistic life.

It is only when we come to the end of ourselves in desperation that we begin to turn and cry out…for ourselves, our families, our churches and our world.

WHAT IS COMING FROM YOU, AS YOU SIT BY THE ROAD?

We are just as helpless as Bartimaeus. And Jesus is just as near. Are you crying out? Do you still think you can handle life or have you come to such desperation that you are crying unceasingly to the Lord?

Are you crying out to God for revival in your life, family and church and a mighty spiritual awakening that will open blind eyes in your community and across our nation? Only Jesus can make lifeless eyes see. Not slick programs, or new ideas, or human ingenuity. Only Jesus.