Are You Blind?
Spiritual Blindness is Not Permanent!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. Mark 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. Blessings,
Kris Belfils Kristine (Kris) A. Belfils is the author of the book ,“The Garbage Man Always Comes on Fridays”. She is a dynamic public speaker, Singer/Songwriter, Worship Leader and Licensed Minister. Kris is free-lance writer for various websites and newsletters. She is a Songwriter/Recording Artist with numerous music projects including A Righteous Life, Seasons of Change, and Brokenness. She has served as Worship Leader, Minister of Music, and Associate Pastor for various churches in the Pacific Northwest. She ministers under a prophetic anointing. Kris, and her husband Ron, live in Washington State, and are raising two beautiful daughters. |
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