Day 22: Mark 10:46-52

Blind Bartimaeus is my hero! His story here includes so many great things. First, he doesn’t allow anyone or anything deter him from getting to Jesus. He hears that Jesus is near and so he begins to shout to get his attention. When others in the crowd tell him to shut up, he just yells louder.

Second, he goes all in when Jesus calls him over. “He threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.” That coat may have been everything Bartimaeus owned. For a poor, blind beggar, a good coat could be the difference between life and death. Yes, it was a coat during the day, but it could be used as a blanket at night, or even shelter to stay dry when it was raining. A good coat was a valuable possession to anyone in those days, but so much more to a blind, homeless man. So when he tossed it aside before he went to Jesus, before he was healed, before his situation had changed, that was a declaration of his faith. “No longer will I be identified as Blind Bartimaeus. No longer will I be a beggar on the side of the road.”

Third, he wasn’t afraid to say what he needed when Jesus asked him. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. Everyone there knew what this guy wanted, but Jesus wanted to hear it from Bartimaeus himself. James 4:2 says, “Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” 

What is keeping you from calling out to Jesus? What is it that has shushed you and made you think that you aren’t important enough to bother the Messiah? Don’t be discouraged! Don’t be quiet! Call out even louder and he will hear you.

What do you need to toss aside now that Jesus has called you? What has been a sense of comfort to you that you no longer need? What has been a part of your identity in the past that does not define you any longer? Toss it aside and go!

What are you lacking? What do you need from God? We can now go boldly into the very throne room of God and present our petitions to him through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ!