35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
These set of verses have been on my mind a lot lately. There are many powerful and beautiful lessons to be found within the verses. Here are just five that have impacted me this past month.
1. When opportunity arrives - TAKE IT!
The blind man was sitting by the way begging and then heard that the Savior was passing by. I assume the blind man must have heard something about Christ's power or about other miracles He had performed. So, when his opportunity arrived to ask for a miracle - he took it.
Remember the story of the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48.) She had suffered for 12 years before her opportunity came to be healed. In a crowd of people she took her opportunity by simply reaching out to touch the Savior's garment.
It takes courage to stretch ourselves when opportunities come. It can be scary and overwhelming, but, like the blind man, it can lead us to tremendous blessings and results.
Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19 - ". . . ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."
We can not begin to comprehend the great blessings God has prepared for us, but if we want to find out what they are then we need to take every opportunity God puts in front of us!
2. Cry unto the Lord
Immediately, the blind man began to cry unto the Savior! I love that! He didn't hesitate to call out for Him. Even after the crowd tried to quiet him, he cried even louder.
Camille Fronk Olsen said, "Bartimeus' (the blind man) faith was rewarded and strengthened as he acted on the incomplete faith he then possessed. In the process Bartimeus learned that the Lord is not merely a physical healer but a spiritual healer."
I love that phrase - incomplete faith. Sometimes, when we cry out to the Lord, we use whatever faith (not matter how little) to plead our case before the Lord. I know God hears and answers my prayers, and He hears and answers yours as well.
I love the story of the Dad with the sick child (Mark 9:14-29.) The savior said, in verse 23, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." I love the father's response in verse 24, "And STRAIGHTWAY the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, LORD I BELIEVE; HELP THOU MY UNBELIEF."
How many times do we give the same response? Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!
Continue to cry unto the Lord daily.
3. Don't let the crowd hold you back
I watch a Christian minister, on YouTube, called Terri Savelle Foy, and she always says, "Don't share your big dreams with small minds." Why? Because small minds have a way of making us doubt. God sees your potential. He knows exactly what you can achieve and He will help you. When people tell try to discourage you, do what the blind man did and "cry so much the more!"
Don't doubt what God has called you to do!
Nephi was constantly being told by his brothers that he couldn't do the things that the Lord had asked him to do. Nephi, however, showed them exactly what the Lord was able to accomplish through him.
"Now behold ye know that this is true; . . . wherefore can ye doubt?" (1st Nephi 4:3)
Fill in the blank at the end of this verse, "And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should __________________________________________________."
DON'T DOUBT GOD'S POWER!
and don't let others take you from reaching your full potential! Go after your hopes, goals, and dreams. Don't stop to please the crowd! Don't justify - simply show up and show them exactly what you, with the Lord, can do!
4. Ask Big!
When the blind man approached the Savior, the Savior asked him, "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?" Was it not obvious what the blind man wanted? I don't know about you but I have never met a blind person that I didn't know was blind; yet, the Lord felt it was important for the blind man to ask what he wanted. Now, the blind man could have said anything but instead he asked BIG! He asked for something only God could do. "Lord , that I may receive my sight."
Terri Savelle Foy said, "If you can accomplish your goals on your own, without needed God, then they aren't big enough." She also said, "If one of your goals is to get out of debt but you don't know how much debt you have then you are not serious about getting out of debt."
We have to know what we want, and then when the opportunity arises - ASK BIG!
5. Praise God
One of my favorite songs is by a trio called, The City of Enoch. The song is called, Anyway. Here is a little bit of the lyrics
It's easy to love you
when you give me what I want
and it's easy to trust you
when I feel you holding on
I'll sing you songs when all I have is on the rise
but God you're good
God you're good all the time
so when my hands are empty
and when my heart is heavy
I will praise you, praise you, praise you anyway
and when I'm lonely
don't know where I am going
I will praise you, praise you, praise you anyway
Give thanks when blessings come. Give thanks when life feels heavy. Give thanks when goals are accomplish and even more so in the process!
Remember : God will meet you where you are! For the blind man it was on the side of the road, but it could be at a well, in the crowd, in a house, or wherever you are!
Take courage and cry out to him!
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