Don’t Shut Up

What is stopping you from asking God for a miracle? What is keeping you from taking a next step? Don’t stop asking God for more, and don’t stop taking next steps!

Ever been told to shut up? Perhaps you were embarrassed or mad the last time someone told you to shut up. One time a teacher in high school said shut up to me and it definitely caught my attention and hurt my feelings. 

There are times when we need to ignore the command to be quiet, ignore our doubts, ignore our fears, and pursue Jesus with all that we have. What if the only thing standing in between you and an experience with God was your reluctance to speak up and ask?

Don’t let fear cause you to miss what God wants to do in your life.

Take a look at the story of Jesus healing Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52. Jesus has made his way through a town called Jericho, and as He is leaving, a blind man named Bartimaeus starts yelling, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd that is walking with Jesus yells back at Bart telling him to shut up. Bartimaeus, being the redneck that he is, shouts even louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stops and asks the crowd who has just yelled ‘shut up’ at Bart to call him over. He jumps up and makes his way to Jesus through the crowd, and Jesus says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bart responds by asking Jesus to let him see, and Jesus does just that! Finally, the new and improved Bartimaeus follows Jesus as he leaves Jericho.

I love the question that Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do?" How would you answer that question? Are you allowing the opinion of others to keep you from taking a next step?

Four things we can learn from the story of Bartimaeus:

1. Receiving Jesus’ mercy is more important than physical healing.

Notice what Bartimaeus was screaming and begging to receive.

2. Spending time with Jesus is more important than satisfying the crowd.

Notice Bartimaeus’ persistence.

3. Knowing Jesus completely is more important than knowing about Him.

Blind Bartimaeus could “see” who Jesus was more clearly than the crowds that could physically see and were walking around him.

4. Following Jesus is more important than anything else after you realize the first three points.

Bartimaeus immediately starts following Jesus after receiving his sight and leaves everything familiar behind.