A Faith that Ignores Doubters
In Luke 18:38-39, we read about Bartimaeus, who was a man that was not much different than you or me at times. He was at a desperate place in life. So desperate that he knew Jesus was the only One that would be able to help him out of his depressing situation. He knew that he was at a place in life where he had to put all of his hope and his entire future into the hands of God, by trusting Jesus. And yet, it is when a person is at this place in life (and maybe this is where you are at right now), that the enemy of our souls will always raise up doubters to try and discourage us from giving God our entire life, and our unwavering faith and hope in His ability to deliver us from whatever circumstances we may be facing.
The Bible tells us, "Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging, and hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; BUT HE CRIED OUT ALL THE MORE, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!'"
Here we read that when Bartimaeus cried out for Jesus to deliver him, that those who were around Bartimaeus told him to be quiet about his faith in Jesus, and to quit crying out to God for help. Is this not the culture we find ourselves in today? The world we live in is trying to influence us to keep quiet about our faith in Jesus, and to quit looking for Him to help us. The enemy of our soul is trying to deceive us into believing that Jesus doesn't care about us, or the difficult situation we find ourselves in.
We see in this story that Bartimaeus was sick of being in the condition he was in. He knew that the world he was living in had nothing to offer him, and gave him absolutely no hope at all, and therefore Bartimaeus chose to ignore the doubters who the enemy had placed in his life. Bartimaeus plugged his ears to the lies of the devil, and the influence of those with doubting hearts, and with reckless abandoned, "he cried out all the more" to Jesus for help (Luke 18:39).
The Bible then tells us that once Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus for help that, "Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' He said, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God."
The Bible tells us that the moment Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus for help, that the Lord immediately stopped what He was doing, and took notice of this mans faith. This is exactly what Jesus will do for you, the moment you ignore the doubters who are in your life, as well as the doubt that fills your heart. He will stop what He is doing and take notice of you. For Bartimaeus, the Bible tells us that once he cried out to God with unyielding faith in Jesus, that Jesus stopped what He was doing and called for him to come, and responded to Bartimaeus by saying, "Your faith has made you well" (Luke 18:42).
What is it that Jesus took notice of? It was the fact that Bartimaeus had a faith that ignored the doubters, and with all of his heart he chose to seek after Jesus. And because of this, Jesus said to him, "Your FAITH has made you well" (v.42). This is the type of faith that Jesus takes notice of. One who ignores the doubters and with reckless abandoned places all of their trust in Him alone. The Bible then tells us in the next verse that Bartimaeus "immediately received his sight, and followed Jesus" (Luke 18:43).
What a wonderful story about a man living in complete and utter darkness, without hope whatsoever, who decided to place his complete trust in Jesus, regardless of what everyone around him was saying or thinking. He didn't care what the doubters in the workplace thought. He didn't care what the doubters in his neighborhood thought. He didn't care what the doubters in his family thought. Bartimaeus only cared about what Jesus thought, and because he placed his trust in Jesus, he was not only healed, but his entire life was radically changed from that point on.
May this be the day that you begin living with a faith that ignores doubters. May you begin following Jesus with reckless abandoned, and begin glorifying God in all areas of your life, regardless of what everyone around you says or thinks. Because when you begin to give Jesus everything you have, even if it means you could lose everything, you will begin seeing Him do the impossible in your life, where the power of God is truly being manifested in and through your life, and where the world around you begins praising God for what great things He does through your life. But the only way we can do this, is by having a faith that ignore the doubters.
