Like Bartimaeus, we have been chosen. Ephesians 1:4 tells us that God “CHOSE” us in Christ, actually selected us for Himself as His own, “before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless” in His sight. God truly wants us to know that we are both CHOSEN and BLAMELESS, and that our identity is in Him. But a lot of times, we may have a hard time really believing in our hearts that we are chosen.
We often have faith for answered prayers, but faith for who we are is often a lot harder, and we are almost afraid to believe God about who He says we are. It took courage for Bartimaeus to cry out to Jesus in the face of other people scolding him and telling him to be quiet. It took courage to respond to Jesus’s call. And it takes courage for us to approach Jesus too, to take off our old identities, to change the way we look at ourselves, no longer believing the words that other people have spoken over us but rather letting the words of Jesus nullify them all. When Jesus chose him, Bartimaeus was no longer the insignificant one, the one people passed by, the one who lived in shame. He leaped up to reach his answer, the one who called him, chose him and could make him whole again. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, and that led to his miracle.
So we need to cry out too. Ultimately, the answer to the question: What must I do? Is simple but sometimes hard in the face of our circumstances. We need to ask God, am I relying on You and all You did at the cross or am I trying to earn the answer to my heart’s cry? And God, “Do I know that I am chosen?” If not, ask Him why not. If yes, then ask Him what He has chosen for you to do.
…And take courage and believe that you don’t have to earn His Grace His Healing or His Attention and believe that you are chosen, blameless and made in His image to do the works He did..because with God NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE. And as Bartemeaus did, leave your beggar’s rags behind and accompany Jesus into the good future He has for you.
We often have faith for answered prayers, but faith for who we are is often a lot harder, and we are almost afraid to believe God about who He says we are. It took courage for Bartimaeus to cry out to Jesus in the face of other people scolding him and telling him to be quiet. It took courage to respond to Jesus’s call. And it takes courage for us to approach Jesus too, to take off our old identities, to change the way we look at ourselves, no longer believing the words that other people have spoken over us but rather letting the words of Jesus nullify them all. When Jesus chose him, Bartimaeus was no longer the insignificant one, the one people passed by, the one who lived in shame. He leaped up to reach his answer, the one who called him, chose him and could make him whole again. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, and that led to his miracle.
So we need to cry out too. Ultimately, the answer to the question: What must I do? Is simple but sometimes hard in the face of our circumstances. We need to ask God, am I relying on You and all You did at the cross or am I trying to earn the answer to my heart’s cry? And God, “Do I know that I am chosen?” If not, ask Him why not. If yes, then ask Him what He has chosen for you to do.
…And take courage and believe that you don’t have to earn His Grace His Healing or His Attention and believe that you are chosen, blameless and made in His image to do the works He did..because with God NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE. And as Bartemeaus did, leave your beggar’s rags behind and accompany Jesus into the good future He has for you.