A Real Crowd-Stopper
"And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee" ( KJV)
"Have mercy on me," the blind man screamed louder and louder as Jesus passed by. All he wanted was to receive his eyesight through some miracle from Him. Begging and being ignored had become a way of life for Bartimaeus. He hoped Jesus would stop but didn't expect him to. No-one stopped for him. When they did, it was usually because he was in the way, and they wanted him to move. Now, here were those same people, telling him to be quiet and leave Jesus alone. He figured Jesus probably didn't have time for somebody like him anyway.
Suddenly, the people who told him to be quiet were coming toward him and grabbing him by the arm. "Be of good comfort; rise; he calleth for thee." As they led him back to Jesus, he wondered what Jesus would say. He figures everyone else was annoyed because Jesus has them standing around in the hot sun. So He stopped the whole crowd on the road to talk to him. When he got to Jesus, he told him he wanted to receive his sight. Jesus told him to go on his way because his faith had made him whole. He immediately received his sight and followed Jesus.
Sometimes we underestimate our worth. Jesus says that we were worth dying for, so He did. He sees value in us that we don't. Not only did Jesus die for us, but He has a reputation for stopping the crowds with Him to take care of folks just like us. Though others may write us off or want us to be quiet and leave Jesus to the essential people, He came for people like us.
He once stopped a vast multitude because a sick woman believed enough to touch only His clothes and was healed. He also made a crowd stop under a tree where a tax collector had climbed up to see Him. He later went to his house to eat. He was known to stop crowds full of religious and political leaders to heal various outcasts with all sicknesses. God even made the sun stand still to give one of his soldiers enough daylight to finish a battle.
Jesus thinks no less of us. To Him, there's no higher priority. After all, he did volunteer to become the sacrifice for our sins and made daylight become darkness for three hours while He was on the cross. He would even bankrupt heaven to meet our needs. It'll never come to that, and heaven will never go bankrupt. He will put the whole world on hold to meet our needs. He's a real crowd-stopper. Have a blessed day in the Lord!
Heavenly Father, help me never underestimate how important I am to you. Let me always remember that your Son thought enough of me to die for my sins. I'm forever grateful to know there's no one more important in your eyes than the one who calls upon you with faith. Help me never to forget you always have time to meet my needs as you see fit. All I have to do is ask, and you will make the world stand still while you meet my needs.
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Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES VERSION, public domain.
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