Are You Blind?
By Kris Belfils
I was in the
airport coming home from a Women's conference in Oregon I spoke
at, and noticed a blind man sitting across from me. He was
content to just sit and wait for his plane to come. He had a
walking cane folded up in his hands and I knew he needed it to
help him walk and not bump into things. When it was time for
those to board who needed assistance, someone came and took him
by the arm and directed him to where he needed to go. He was
solely relying on the other person to take him to the right
plane. He put his trust in that person. His blindness prevented
him from seeing for himself the steps he needed to take to get
into the right line to board the right plane. I don't know if he
was born with blindness, but he seemed very content in it. I am
sure if someone came to him and said, "I can take your blindness
away," he would quickly reply, "Please, I want to see!"
Jesus healed so many people, including those that were blind. He
had compassion on them and healed them. Blind people long to be
healed, and are persistent in asking for their healing.
Matthew 20:29-34 (KJV)
And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed
him. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when
they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy
on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked
them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the
more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And
Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, what will ye that
I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may
be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their
eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they
followed him.
Mar 10:46 52
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. 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. 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. And Jesus
stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called the
blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth
thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
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. 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.
Desperation forces us to cry out!
Bartimaeus was tired of living in darkness. Those who were
trying to keep him quiet didn't understand his darkness. They
didn't live for years without sight. They couldn't relate to his
cry. But Bartimaeus was tired of having to rely on other people
to help him get around. He was sick and tired of being sick and
tired. No one would have talked him out of his healing on that
day. From deep within he called out to Jesus to have mercy. He
must have heard about all the healings that were taking place
throughout the region, wishing it would be him someday. He was
desperate for change and with desperation comes urgency. He
could not take one more day in darkness.
Bartimaeus cast away his garment before he came to Jesus to be
healed. His garment brought comfort. It was his security and
warmth. It covered him and protected him, yet he cast it away to
come to Jesus. He was tired of functioning in the darkness and
cast away what was dear to him to be touched and healed by the
Master. He was desperate. He didn't care what it took to get to
Jesus; he was determined not to have anything prevent him from
coming. He didn't want any hindrance in his way, only a touch
from Jesus could cure his desperation.
Desperation can be a good thing or a bad thing. In Bartimaeus'
case, it was a good thing because his desperation drove him to
the Master. It made him ignore the "Nay Sayers" and cry out all
the more for change in his life. I'm sure he chose to ignore
what he might have been thinking in his mind at the time, "You
have always been blind, what makes you think you will see?"
Desperation brings us to the end of ourselves. It is there we
realize we are tired of where we are, and decide to do something
about it.
Being blind forces you to rely on someone else to show you where
you are going. Blindness makes you stumble in the dark. You
cannot see the beauty around you. You never experience the
freedom of running. A blind person tends to stay where it is
safe. Please understand if you know someone who is blind, I am
not picking on them, but this disability is prevalent in our
spiritual lives. We can be blind to the attacks of the enemy.
Blind to what God is trying to show us. Blindness will block us
from seeing the needs of others, and it only allows us to know
our own darkness and misery.
It takes a tuff person to expand outside of their blindness and
function in the every day life. When I see a blind person
walking down the road by themselves, I am amazed at their lack
of fear of getting lost, or hit by a car. In the natural, we see
people all the time who are blind and have not been healed, but
spiritually there should never be blindness because of Christ.
Jesus came to give sight to the blind. He came to heal those who
live in darkness. He came to set the captive free.
Isaiah 61:1 (Amplified Bible)
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has
anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings
to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up
and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical
and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the
eyes to those who are bound."
Isaiah 41:7 (Amplified Bible)
"To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the
dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison."
I've noticed that darkness and prison go together. We can be
blind and sit in our prison cell all lonely and full of self
pity. What will it take for you to want vision more than your
darkness?
Are you blind?
Do you feel you can't see what God has for you? Have you been
searching for something more in your life and end up bumping
into things that get you no where? Maybe you keep struggling
over the same sin over and over again and can't see your way out
of it. You might feel lonely or empty and can't find what it is
that will fill the void in your heart. Jesus came to heal you of
your blindness. Spiritual blindness is not permanent! There is a
cure.
Just like the blind man, who was blind from birth, and knows
nothing else but darkness, you might not realize you are blind.
God has so much for each of us to experience in Him. He longs
for us to draw close to Him so that He can whisper in our ear
more about Who He is! He wants us to see the truth and to stop
listening to the lies we have been hearing.
God's desire is to free you from your blindness. It was never
His intent for you to live in darkness. He wants you to see
clearly what His word says to you. God wants you to awaken to
new things awaiting you. Just like any blind person who has been
given sight, they are looking at things they have never seen
before. They are experiencing life differently then in their
past. A whole new world has been open to them with vibrant
colors and endless things to look at. They get to experience for
the first time seeing a loved one. All their life they have
heard their loved one's voice, and may have touched their face
to try and feel what they looked like, but to gaze for the first
time in their eyes has to be breath taking.
Having your sight will let you see things before you come to it.
Spiritual sight will give you insight into what God wants for
your life. You will see it in God's word, or see it in a dream
or vision God gives you. Ask God to give you spiritual eyes to
see.
Sometimes our blindness will block our view of how we are
functioning in life. We can't see any bad behaviors we are doing
because we are blind to it. We might not be able to recognize we
are going down the wrong road in life. Blindness may be an
un-teachable heart. You might think you your knowledge is enough
and no one can teach you anything, but this is blindness. We
should always be teachable.
Do you want healing for your Spiritual Blindness?
You can choose to stay in your darkness or you can choose to
receive your sight. Bartimaeous' choice brought a miraculous
healing in his life that forever changed him.
Do you want to be healed of your blindness? Don't let your
comfort of where you are; keep you from becoming who God wants
you to be. Cast your garment away and run to your Savor who is
waiting for you to come. Ask Him to set you free from your
darkness. He will meet you as you run to Him. Jesus is just
waiting for you to want to be healed.
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of
His glory and grace." How can we turn our eyes upon Jesus if we
are blind and can't see? Allow God to bring His healing touch to
your soul and activate your spiritual eyes to see. We should
have eyes for only Jesus and not get distracted by the things of
this world. Keep your new gaze on Jesus always and He will help
you walk from day to day.
Kris Belfils is an Author, Pastor, Singer/Songwriter,
Speaker, and Worship Leader. She has a passion to see people
transformed and set free. Her newest book, "The Garbage Man
Always Comes On Fridays," is a powerful tool to help others
overcome their past.
www.krisbelfils.com
