Here are five verses that give me hope and an opportunity to praise God: Mark 8:22-26.
What do you read when you go through these few lines of scripture? I see a man begging Jesus to heal him. Actually, scripture says he wanted a touch from Jesus, which is synonymous with healing, because he knew that the moment Jesus intervened, something was going to happen.
When was the last time you called on the Name of the Lord to
intervene? If you're anything like me, it was probably just a few moments ago. I'm always asking God to step in. As I call on
His Name, I cultivate my heart to engage in Thanksgiving just like the
scriptures teach me. I know that
something beautiful is going to happen as I invoke my Savior's Name, so I thank Him before I see the change, and I praise Him before my moment catches us up with His reality. God is always working!
“He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the
village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus
asked, “Do you see anything?” (v23)
That is an excellent question. As we wait on the Lord and pour our hearts out to him, I think it's OK to ask ourselves, “Do you see
anything?”
Mark 8:24 reads like this, “He looked up and said, 'I see
people; they look like trees walking around.”
I'm going to be asking and answering that question
more often as I call on the Name of the Lord.
The blind man said he saw something that looked like trees. His
sight had not fully been restored. But in the scriptures, this man begins to
give glory to God immediately! He acknowledged there was a change!
Jesus intervenes again, and as he touches the man's
eyes, they open, and he is fully restored.
Practicing gratitude. Believing God's Word and allowing faith to arise.
Psalm 50:23, “He who offers a sacrifice of {Praise} thanksgiving {Todah} honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”
What I learned from this line in scripture is that my heart must be cultivated in Thanksgiving and gratitude. Here, the Psalmist begins to give thanks to God before he even sees an outcome!
The blind man acknowledges that he sees something. He wasn't fully healed, but he acknowledged that Jesus was doing something. God’s intervention had and was changing the tomorrow, the future, the landscape of the blind man's life.
Today, let's be like the Psalmist and the blind man. You may not see the full answer; nevertheless, we are called to thank God for the intervention that is occurring, even if we don't fully see it.
“Even when I don’t see it, you're working, even if I don’t feel
it, you're working, my God, that is who you are.” Lyrics from “Way Maker” by Leeland
Worship the Lord! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJCV_2H9xD0&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD
If God is for us - who can be against us! I trust in you, LORD!
God bless you!~Liz
