The Faith Connection
by Joyce Meyer - posted April 07, 2015
. . . As [Jesus] was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]! Mark 10:46-47
The Word of God tells us that our faith—our positive, hopeful expectation—pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6), and several times in the Gospels, we see that Jesus was moved to act because of the faith—the expectations—of those He encountered (see Matthew 9:29, Mark 5:34, Luke 7:50, and Luke 17:19). One such miracle is found in Mark chapter 10. I love this story, and I think it has great relevance for you and me today because it’s all about the importance of expectation.
If you think about it, Bartimaeus had every reason to expect the worst. He was a blind beggar who sat by the roadside every day, trying to survive on spare change. He was living a very difficult life, and if anybody was going to tone down his level of expectation, you would think it would be Bartimaeus. He could have thought This is useless. It won’t work. Nothing’s going to change. Jesus probably won’t even notice me. Why get my hopes up? No one would have blamed him.
But Bartimaeus dared to hope for something greater in life. He started to think about what might happen instead of what might not happen. There was nothing “toned down” about his level of expectation as he began to shout with all of his might, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!” Can you hear the insistence in his voice? It’s as if Bartimaeus had decided there was absolutely no way he was going to miss this chance. Even though many in the crowd “censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still” (see Mark 10:48), Bartimaeus would not be quieted. He shouted louder and louder until Jesus stopped and called for him.
Here is one of the most amazing parts of this story: When Bartimaeus was brought to Jesus, the Lord asked him an almost unthinkable question. In verse 51, Jesus said to this blind beggar, What do you want Me to do for you?
That seems like a strange question, doesn’t it? The disciples may have been thinking What do you want me to do for you? Lord, isn’t it obvious? The man is blind. How can You ask him that? But Jesus was asking something deeper—He was asking Bartimaeus: What are you expecting? Are you only expecting a meal? Are you wanting someone to lead you around by the hand? Are you merely expecting a handout?All of those things were certainly things Bartimaeus needed, and if he was living with little faith, he may have settled for one of those things.
But Bartimaeus had a greater level of expectation. When Jesus asked, What do you want Me to do for you? Bartimaeus didn’t hesitate, he didn’t have to think about it, he didn’t wonder if he was asking for too much. Bartimaeus boldly said, Master, let me receive my sight. You probably know the rest of the story. Jesus was greatly moved by Bartimaeus’ faith. Verse 52 says: And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.
Because Bartimaeus was bold enough to believe for God’s best, that is exactly what he received from the Lord. The same is true in your life, and this is why the level of your expectation is so important to the kind of life you’re going to live. If you don’t expect God to do anything great in your life, He won’t. But if you dare to raise your level of expectation and begin anticipating that God wants to do something great in your life, you’ll begin to dream, believe, ask, and act with a confident boldness, knowing God is for you and has a great plan for your life.
From the book Get Your Hopes Up by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2015 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
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