Live in Wonderful Expectation

I'm mining 1 Peter Chapter 1 today as I lay low and allow the Lord to heal my body and my soul. It's funny how my soul aches are often less aggressive than my body aches. Anyway, I decided to read it in the New Living Translation today and this is what struck me:

1:3...for it is by His boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege to be born again. Now we live with a WONDERFUL EXPECTATION because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. (my emphasis)

I love the way they expressed the word Hope as wonderful expectation. It just struck me that even though my day may stink or I may feel crushed by the worries of this world, I am free to live with WONDERFUL EXPECTATION of new life in Heaven where there is no pain, sorrow, worries or hurts. That this life isn't all there is because Jesus defeated death. 

then 

1:6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. 

Again, I can be glad because there is joy ahead. The trials here are of the world because we live in a fallen world. God gave man the title deed to Earth but when man sinned, he gave it to Satan. So we live in a world that is not our own and belongs to the enemy of God...and of our souls. But because Jesus defeated death on the cross, forgiving our sins, we have joy in store for us in Heaven through faith.

That just struck me today...that because of God's mercy and Christ's death and resurrection, I am free to live in Wonderful expectation and gladness despite the daily trials I live in presently. It's my choice to be weighed down by the world, or to look forward in expectation of better days.

It's just not about this world. That's when I look at people (and myself) striving, trying to fill their (my) lives with things, accomplishments, knowledge and success and I am sad. Because the answer to the aches inside us are not of this world. And we can live in wonderful expectation if only we would not only believe, but walk in that belief. There is treasure and glorious riches stored up for us in Heaven as seen right between those two verses in 1 Peter 1:4 For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

I can't keep thinking about the hope I have in Heaven. The blessings I receive here on earth, and there have been many, pale in comparison to what lies in store. That thought makes me excited with wonderful expectation!

Rejoice! Be Glad! The Lord has wonderful things in storage for those who love Him and receive Him by faith. Have you done that?

Faith, Hope, and Healing

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, 

"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

Then many warned him to be quiet; 

but he cried out all the more, 

"Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. 

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, 

"Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." 

And throwing aside his garment, he sprang and ran to Jesus. 

So Jesus answered and said to him, 

"What do you want Me to do for you?" 

The blind man said to Him, 

"Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." 

Then Jesus said to him, 

"Go your way; your faith has made you whole." 

And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. 

Mark 10: 46-52

Eyes to See

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking." Then He put [His] hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Mark 8:22-25

This story fascinates me. And like all scripture, the details are all relevant. 

It is interesting to consider why Jesus had to heal this man twice. Was He off that day? Was He a little tired and unfocused so that it took Him two tries to heal this blind man as opposed to how He healed others? Not at all. I believe it is a beautiful picture of a healing process that some of us  must go through when we become Christians and as we learn how to see ourselves and others through the eyes of Christ. 

My first question is who are the “they” in the story. I’m assuming they were the man’s family and friends who brought the man to Jesus and begged that He touch him. And what did Jesus do? He lead the man out of town to heal him privately. He didn’t always heal in private, but this time He did. I too was “brought” to Jesus by way of friends and I was even plopped down at this feet and asked if I wanted to receive Him. And I said “no”. What did my friends do? They trusted in the power of Christ and let me walk away. Perhaps they knew I did not walk away alone, for it wasn’t long before He spoke so clearly to my heart and my soul that I couldn't help but respond. He could have healed me that day among others, but He met me in the way He knew I needed to meet Him.  And I was healed. I was given sight to see the depravity of my sin and the better life He had for me. I was healed. What I didn’t realize is that my healing that day was incomplete, but rather in part so that God could do a glorious work in my heart  in His time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Once Jesus had led the man out of town, He spit on the man’s eyes and then He asked the man if he saw anything. This man was blind and suddenly he could see men walking like trees. Some might think the fact that he could see anything was a miracle. And in a way it was. The man may have been satisfied to just have sight at all. It is certainly how I felt...I was happy to be saved. But our healing is not for ourselves, but for the body of Christ. And  how I saw men when I first got saved...and for a long time after. You see, Jesus opened my eyes to my sinfulness and the debt He paid for my sin, for the world’s sin. I began a course of learning and studying that helped me to see why I need Jesus, why God’s ways are not mans ways and why they are higher, and why everyone needs to reach out to Him for forgiveness. But as I began to see this in myself,  I developed a problem.  I started to see men like trees walking. Trees are a biblical symbol of our flesh and our flesh is wretchedly sinful. So I began to see men as sinners in need of saving which is accurate, but my method was not to lead them to Jesus and ask Him to heal them. It was to try to heal them myself by applying God’s Word  where I saw it was needed. 

This all really came to a head as I was steeped in study of the Old Testament law. The longer I steeped, the more legalistic I became. I started to share God’s word not with love and compassion, but because it was RIGHT. I’d been in God’s Word for 9 years and I not only wanted people to know Jesus, I wanted them to catch up and be on the same page as I. I couldn’t appreciate others for where they were in their walks, or how God was teaching them and loving them individually. I began to wield the sword of Truth wildly and in the process, I was cutting people’s ears off and making it harder for them to hear the love of Christ...or should I say my view of Christ through the veil of the law...which is no view at all. As one situation escalated into a catastrophic explosion, I finally found myself broken at the feet of my Savior, knowing that in my zeal to serve Him, I had lost sight of His heart and hurt a lot of people in the process.

It was then that Jesus put His hands on my eyes a second time, and as He did with the blind man, He made me look up. Where was I looking? To heaven. To the cross. Into the eyes of Love. All the damage I’d done in His name and all He could do is look at me with those eyes of love. That’s Grace! And then I began to see men clearly. Because I now saw clearly through His eyes...from His point of view! I began to study how Jesus spoke with mercy and truth. How He reacted to people with compassion and kindness. And how even though He was always right, He did not force truth. He also knew when to walk away from a conversation. And He applied a great amount of grace. 

Again I am reminded that as an evangelistically gifted individual, my job is to point to Him and when necessary, beseech Him to lead those to whom I’ve found myself ministering out of town (away from me) to touch their eyes. He is showing me how and when to speak AND when to be silent and walk away. And that is where I find myself presently. I’ve been pointing someone to Christ and now it’s time to let Him take her out of town and give her sight. For it is always He who heals. I'm just honored for any part of the process He allows me access. Of course while my silence may be in words to her, I am far from silent in my prayers for her. 

Lord Jesus, I lift up my friend to you and I beg you to give her sight. I pray that all I have said has been true to Your heart and Your Word. I pray that all that was of me is removed from her, but only that which is of You remains. I pray you will draw her gently to the foot of the cross and shower her with Your Grace and Mercy. I pray she has ears to hear, eyes to see and a heart that is ready to receive all that You have for her today. Amen.