Distracted…

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

Rise and Shine, sweet friends!

Happiest of Mondays to you!

Well, it is cold again here in Georgia…very cold.

The crazy weather continues. :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready for a new week.

Mondays are a fresh start! A new week is upon us and God is oh so Good!

If you have fallen off the wagon from reading God’s Word…it is ok! Just pick it right back up and start again.

Jesus is not keeping score, He just wants us to fall back into His Word.

This morning, my reading had me in Mark Chapter 10.

One of the passages is about a blind beggar named Bartimaeus…let’s just call him Bart for now.

Bart is doing his usual begging on the side of the road when he hears that Jesus is about to walk by.

Bart cries out in a very loud voice…

”Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people around Bart tell him to quiet down, he is being too loud.

Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Bart completely defies them by crying out loudly again!

Jesus then calls Bart over to him.

Mmm, can you even imagine? I love this passage.

Bart gets up, throws his jacket off and runs over to Jesus.

Jesus asks Bart, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Now, let’s pause here. Jesus is all knowing, so He knows exactly what Bart wants him to do for him. Yet, He still asks.

Bart then tells him that he wants to see.

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

There are several things I want us to look at here.

First, Bart immediately knew that Jesus was there. He wasn’t distracted or wallowing in self pity.

I think of todays culture. Would we have been too distracted on our phones to notice that Jesus was near??

Often, we are so engrossed in our phones, or in other distractions that we may miss a Divine opportunity.

Our phones are really good at pulling us away from the people around us.

How much do we miss not keeping our heads up and looking at those around us?

*speaking to myself here.

Secondly, Jesus doesn’t go straight to Bart, but Jesus calls Him to come over.

Wow.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8

Do we often want all of God’s blessings and miracles, but we want to sit right in our seat and receive them. We often do not draw near to God. We just wait for Him to come and deliver us whatever we want.

Kind of like uber eats. We are used to just sitting in our little comfy places, waiting on something good to be delivered to our door step.

Bart was called to Jesus, and Bart walked over.

Jesus knew what Bart wanted, yet He still wanted Bart to tell him what he wanted.

This was an act of faith on Bart’s part.

Jesus wanted Bart to ask…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

Friends, have we become so lethargic in our faith that we have stopped drawing near to Him, and we have stopped asking?

Maybe some other things are taking our focus off of Him. Maybe our eyes and hearts are glued on other things, so we don’t see Him, and we don’t draw near to Him.

Could it really be this simple?

Yes.

In the passages right above this one, Jesus calls the little children to Him.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. Mark 10:15

Are we like little children, waiting to see Jesus and asking for miracles?

If we are not, we should be.

Bart was ready.

He was not too distracted by his situation to notice that Jesus was walking by.

Goodness, friends, how much do we miss because we are not expecting Jesus?

We must call out for Jesus.

Then…

We must come when He calls. We must get up, throw our phones down, and ask Him for what we need.

Immediately, Bart was healed.

Jesus told him that his faith had healed him.

How is our faith right right this very second?

Oh goodness. Let us not become so lazy and lethargic that we miss this.

Are we seeking Jesus as much as we seek other things?

Ouch. This one stings a bit.

The good news is, we can start right now.

Today, let’s seek Him. Let’s find Him. Let’s pour our hearts to Him.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

throwing distractions aside,

jill