November 9.
Watchful Bartimaeus

Mark 10:48

And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

What a perplexing state to be in. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar. People then had a belief that if you were blind it was because you had committed some kind of sin. People often tag others when they are going through something difficult. They imply that you must have done something wrong. If your house burns down or you have an auto accident, people rush over to discover what it is that you have done wrong. But you don’t have to commit sin for trouble to come; it will show up. If trouble has not made it to your door, just keep living. Sooner or later it will come by and you may as well get ready for it.

You are better prepared to handle a personal crisis if you treat others well during their time of trouble. Don’t look at folk with an eye of disgust because they going through it. You ought to lend them a helping hand, because when you get down somebody will come by and give you comfort and support. Treat everybody the best you can while you can because one of these days you might have to reach out and say, “Hey brother/sister, I need you to help me through this dilemma.”

Bartimaeus positioned himself by the side of the road. Just sitting there he couldn’t see anybody but he could hear folk as they were passing by. You know when you sit in public places you hear everything. He heard all the rumors and gossip. But finally he heard a crowd that had a good story. The Christ following crowd ought to have a different noise, one that will attract folk instead of running people away. A noise that makes a blind person desire to see you. Evidently somebody in the Jesus crowd said the right thing. Jesus came to the neighborhood. Bartimaeus called loudly, “Jesus thou Son of David have mercy on me.”