06032023 He Stopped

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who notices everything. There is nothing about us that He does not know. There is no burden we carry that He does not notice. There is no cry for help that He does not hear.

As Jesus was traveling from one destination to another, there was a needy man who wanted to capture His attention. Bartimaeus was blind. He had to beg to survive. He believed that Jesus could heal him, and when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he called out for mercy. He wanted Jesus to have compassion on his pitiable condition and act to help him.

Jesus could have ignored the cries. He could have continued on his important journey. He could have seen a mission bigger than just one miserable man.

But He didn’t. When he heard Bartimaeus’ cry, “Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called” (Mark 10:49). He stood still in contrast to His previous walking. We would say He stopped.

Jesus stopped. Jesus called for Bartimaeus. Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Jesus immediately healed him.

I like what this passage reveals about the compassionate heart of God. When we call out in our own troubles, God is not deaf to our cries. He is not too busy to consider us. He isn’t so wrapped up in larger issues that He does not care about our individual needs.

We are invited to pray – to come boldly – to ask what we will – to pour out our hearts. As we do so, we can be confident that our compassionate God, who already knows our misery, will “stop” long enough to hear us and attend to our individual situation.

Of course, the wonder is that God can do this for all believers at the same time! He is personally involved and working in each individual life, but it is with such kind attention that it is like He is stopping everything else just to attend to us. What love! May you be aware of His attention and His help in whatever is your area of need.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA