Be Like Bart

Have you ever shared your hearts desire with someone only to walk away feeling like a complete fool? I have and I remember it like it was yesterday. I shared my vision, my dreams, my expectations with a specific person and I'll never forget their response. I was mortified and humiliated. I came home took every notebook, vision board, dream, and thought I had ever written down and stuffed it all in a box.

I. Was. Done.

I was defeated!

A few days later, I read about this guy named Bartimaeus. I like to call him Bart. His tenacity and faith have changed my life. 

You can find his story in the book of Mark chapter 10 verse 46.

I'm going to summarize it so stay with me for just a minute, Barts story can change your situation, it totally did mine.

Basically, Bart is a blind beggar. He's sitting roadside when he hears that Jesus is about to walk by. So get this, Bart cries out in expectation to the Messiah, Jesus.

He yells, "Son of David, have mercy on me." He's literally crying out to Jesus expecting Him to take notice. Now, everyone around him is clearly irritated. In verse 48 its says that many around him rebuked him and told him to be silent. But check this out, it goes on to say that Bartimaeus cried out all the more.

Again, crying "Son of David have mercy on me." 

Now here is what captivated me. Here is this blind man, surrounded by Jesus, the disciples of Jesus, and a large crowd (it says so in verse 46) and this blind beggar is so bold, so confident in what Jesus can do, that he cares not what anyone around him thinks. I love this about Bart! Mind you he was blind, not deaf. He heard the criticism, the nasty remarks, the rebukes but he refused to listen to them. 

He fixed his attention on Jesus, and watch what happened. After the rebukes and the disapproval of others Bartimaeus cried out all the more. He cried out even louder and this, this is what caught the attention of Jesus. In verse 49 it says that Jesus stopped and said, "Call Him." Jesus stops dead in his tracks and is like, bring that man to me. 

So Bartimaeus ran to Jesus, received his miracle, and instantly had his sight restored.  

I don't know about you but I want to be like Bart. Bartimaeus clearly expected Gods greatness in his life and didn't let the opinions of others change his mind about what the living God was capable of. 

Here are a few things we can do to be more like Bart.

1.  Live a life of great expectation.

2.  Speak truth over our lives.

3.  Refuse to listen to the crowd.

4.  Keep our eyes fixed on the One who is able.

5. Take action!

When our attention is fixed on Jesus, we capture the attention of Jesus. 

It was the faith, the expectation that Bartimaeus had that stopped Jesus in his tracks causing Him to have mercy on him and restore his sight.

I believe that God is just waiting for His kids to expect His greatness and receive their miracle.  He's waiting for you, He's waiting for me...to ignore the negativity and unbelief that may surround us, to fix our attention on Him, speak truth, and expect His greatness in our lives. 

Needless to say, I unpacked my box and once again started dreaming, believing and expecting Gods greatness in every area of my life. 

I hope you will too! 

Come on friends, lets be like Bart.