Pam Padgett ... teacher
As Jesus was leaving Jericho a blind man, Bartimaeus, cried out to Him.
Even though those around him tried to keep Bartimaeus from calling out
to Jesus, he continued to do so ...
Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the
son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard
that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou
Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should
hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on me.
Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could help him and continued crying out to Jesus. Jesus stopped, commanded
that Bartimaeus be brought, and healed him ...
Mark 10:49 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. 50 And he, casting away
his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said
unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said
unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto
him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he
received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
While reading about those around Bartimaeus trying to keep him from calling
out to Jesus, I was reminded of thoughts that come to us trying to keep
us from turning to God with problems and concerns. A thought may
tell us we should just ignore the problem, or that the problem is too
small to pray about, or that there is no answer to the problem so no
need to pray about it, or that we can handle it ourselves and don't need
to pray. The devil tries in various ways to keep us from turning to
God.
But we have instructions from God that we are to turn to Him, and promises that He will hear and help us,
including ....
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct thy paths.
Psalm 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath
known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will
be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and
delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is nigh unto
them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit.
As we turn to God according to His word instead of going along with thoughts that would cause us to go another way, we believe and trust God, and He helps us.