Shout all the More!

I hope you're all having a terrific Tuesday :)

Mark 10:47-48 "When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

"...but he shouted all the more..."

Kudos to Bartimaeus for not letting others detract him. He knew what he needed to do, and he wasn't going to let anyone silence his voice. The louder others get--speaking all negatively and/or rudely--the more we need to shout.

And you can be sure there will be times when we stand alone against popular opinion, but that's when we have to shout all the more.

Bartimaeus did not let anyone stop him from calling on Jesus and neither should we.

 

Truth is not everyone will respect or agree with our decision to keep on trusting and praying and believing for our answers. Job's wife is a perfect example.

 

Job 2:9 "His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to be godly when God has done all this to you? Curse Him and die.”

 

Job's name has become synonymous with suffering because of all the tragedy in his life. He lost it all - money, health, family - and it bothered his wife to no end that he was still trusting the Lord. Still reaching out--clinging to hope. She finally exploded and said, "Curse God and die."

 

Lord, have mercy! Job hung in there, and the Bible says in Job 42:20 that, "The Lord blessed Job at the end of his life more than at the beginning."

 

What if Bartimaeus had allowed the others to silence him? His tombstone would have read: Here lies the blind beggar Bartimaeus.

 

I prefer this one: Here lies the formally blind Bartimaeus whose sight was restored because he shouted all the more!

 

AMEN!

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Today we shout shout shout for healing and restoration in our lives. We will not allow others to detract us from reaching out to You. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Timing is Key~

Greetings:)

 

Proverbs 25:11 "A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray."

 

OK--Today I need to clarify because one of you lovely and precious children of God wrote back to me to say that you have tried repeatedly to "impress" God into the heart of your teenager, but all you have gotten are hostile stares, and one time, you swear you were almost physically attacked.

 

After a little more digging, you and I discovered that your timing might be off--just a tad. Maybe right when they wake up and are in a hurry to get to school on time and can't find matching socks is not the best moment to declare, "Jesus is your friend; don't disappoint Him!"

 

When I said yesterday that if I were to have waited until my children were receptive before speaking..., it was meant largely as a joke in order to make a point. The point being that there will be times when you have to speak up no matter what.

 

But in the grand scheme, we all instinctively know when our kids or husbands or friends or relatives are in the right frame of mind to hear what we have to say.

 

When Rayray was in 10th grade her very best friend in the whole wide world was diagnosed with a brain tumor. (Breathe a sigh of relief right now because it turned out to be benign, and she is perfectly healthy today).

 

It was a mega scary time for everyone, and Rayray camped out by her friend's side--at one point even sleeping on the waiting room floor--for two weeks until she was released from the hospital. She would not leave her friend's side, and I remember thinking at the time that Rayray is going to take good care of me when I am geriatric.

 

To say that Rayray was exhausted is an understatement. She was emotionally and physically spent, and I reigned in the Jesus talk.

 

"Mom is praying for you and your buddy"...is about all I said. And even when Rayray came to me one night and was crying her eyes out and wondering whether her friend would be OK, I did not, I repeat, I did not sermonize the moment and rant on and on about getting a grip--Jesus heals--He's in control...

 

In other words, sometimes we impress our kids and others the most when we just hug it out instead of talking it over.

 

A few weeks after everything happened, when Rayray was relieved and happy to have her buddy back, we went over everything that happened and concluded that God deserves the highest of praise, or as the young folk might say, the highest of props.

 

We thanked Him so very very much for the postivive outcome, and Rayray came away with a little treasure impressed on her heart that God hears the heartfelt, desperate prayers of two teenaged gal pals. Glory and Hallelujah!

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Give us wisdom. Help us to speak at the right moment. There is so much we want to say sometimes, but we must be wise not to overdo it. Help us to remember that saying the right thing is only valuable when said at the right time; it's a beautiful and lovely thing. In Jesus' name, AMEN~