Scripture: Mark 10.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 10:51 (NLT)

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In this story of Bartimaeus, often referred to as ‘Bartimaeus, the blind man’, he laid aside any and all pride and shouted over the crowd asking Jesus to have mercy on him. Now while he could have just as easy shouted out “Jesus, give me sight”, instead he chose to ask for mercy. I like this, because I get the impression that he was saying, “Jesus, whatever Your will is, may it be so. Just have mercy on me” There is another similar story where a man said to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, for I am a sinner”. In spite of the crowd and all they were doing and saying, and shouting, Jesus told the disciples to go and tell the man to come here. In our lives, we may feel like Jesus is much too busy with all the other important people of the world, and all the more critical needs that exist, but friend we must be bold like Bartimaeus and ask for what we need from God, but in all humility knowing that it is His will that we need to follow. The other thing that I am humbled and touched by in this story is that, like us, Jesus could easily have assumed that because this man was blind he must have been crying out for healing of his sight, but Jesus didn’t do that, He asked the man “what do you want me to do for you?” Oh that this may be a lesson for us today. Let’s not assume that we know what a person needs, because sometimes this may be totally different than what we might see or assume. What if we were asked by Jesus today, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would be our response? Remember, God sees and knows all things, He knows the desire of our hearts and what it would take to draw us closer to Him and be a better witness for Him, so we may as well be honest with Him and respond in a manner that truly reflects our heart. Instead of the selfish desire to be like, or have the toys like, our neighbor, I wish that we could consider what God can do to make us more like Him. Which walls can He tear down so that we may be humbled and so that we may represent Him better to the lost?

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father God, please have mercy on me. Please forgive me for the selfish desires that I may often have so that I may be more like my rich friend, or neighbor, so that I may be envied by my friends or family. It is You that I need. It is You that I want others to see reflected in my mannerisms and in my actions. It is You that I want them to accept as their Lord and Savior, so may I never be a stumbling block to them. Please have Your will and way in my life today, and direct me into Your path to do Your will today. Please provoke the hearts of those that may read this devotional so that they may lay themselves bare before You and surrender all that is not Godly in their character or their daily lives. As children of the King, we must always be representative of Your character and Your holiness. Please direct me into that path daily!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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