Psalm 77:1 "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me."
My mind is running in so many different directions this morning. Do you ever
get overwhelmed with things that need to get done? Do you ever feel that if you
don't get it done, it just won't get done? It can become a very heavy
burden when you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. And then there
are things that you just cannot do, no matter how hard you try or how hard you
want to accomplish something. There are times when you just need to cry out for
help.
For some reason, my mind went to a man by the name of Bartimaeus in the New
Testament. He was blind and had to rely upon others for so many things in his
life. He had friends who would help him go to a particular place on the side of
the road. There he would cry out to people as they passed by. He existed by
depending upon the mercy of others. No doubt, there were many different ones
who passed by. Some might say a prayer for him. Some might drop a coin into his
container. Some may have even walked by quietly so he would not know they had
passed by him. But at the end of the day, he required help to get back home
where he would lay down in the same condition that he woke up that morning.
But one day... Yes, one day everything changed for Bartimaeus. A certain
day that I believe was planned by our Lord, his life was radically changed. It
began the same as every other day. His friends helped him get to the same place
where he always sat. We must understand that these friends did everything
they possibly could to help him, but they were very limited in what they were capable
of doing. But this day, they took him to his familiar place where they had
taken him every other day. He began to hear a commotion as a large crowd
of people were passing by him. No doubt, he began to ask what was happening
with all the people being there. I can just hear it now. Bartimaeus: "Why
are all these people walking by at the same time?" Someone in the
crowd: "Don't you know? Jesus is coming this way!"
We are told in Mark 10:47 that "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." Surely he had heard of the many miracles performed by Jesus. Suddenly
a ray of light, a ray of hope, came into his life. I wonder if these type
thoughts may have gone through his mind: "If I can just get Jesus to
stop... if I can just talk to Him... If I can get His attention, I know He can
help me." As he cried out for Jesus to help him, there were some who
walked with Jesus that tried to get Bartimaeus to stop crying out to Jesus. "Don't
you know He is a busy man? He has more important things to do than to stop for
some beggar sitting on the side of the road. Don't bother Jesus."
That was the attitude of those walking with Jesus. But thank God that is not
the approach of our Lord. Mark 10:49 tells us, "And Jesus stood still, and
commanded him to be called." Jesus stopped everything else He was doing to
listen to and change the life of this man named Bartimaeus. Now let us think
about this situation and read our text one more time. "I cried unto
God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me."
Aren't you thankful?