DON'T BE SILENCED

DON’T BE SILENCED
BY PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW YOU  STORY
“The crowd … told him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly” – Mk 10:48

STORY
5 frogs fell into a pit and as they were struggling to jump out many other frogs came and surrounded the pit. They started shouting the pit is too deep you can’t make it, you can’t do it, don’t even try, just stay there, save you strength, why waste time, ur good as dead ….

4 of the frogs stopped trying but one little frog tried harder and harder and to everyone’s amazement it jumped out. When this little frog was out it said to the frogs which were outside the pit “thank you for encouraging me”.

The other frogs then realised that this little frog was DEAF. It didn’t hear what they were saying.

As Bartimaeus called to Jesus, the crowd, maybe including Jesus’ disciples, tried to stop him. They thought he was disturbing Jesus on his journey. But, the Scriptures say, “he shouted even louder”.

Bartimaeus shut his ears from discouraging words. To make it in life we need at times to be deaf to the crowd and focus on our goal.

It was easy for people to silence Bartimaeus because they didn’t know what it means to be blind. What it means to stay by the road side. What it means to beg.

My dear friend, today Bartimaeus and the little frog are saying, don’t let people who are not in your situation silence you. You are the one who knows what you are going through. You are the one who knows your problem.

Don’t be silenced by those who have both parents and don’t know what it means to be an orphan. Don’t be silenced by those who still have their spouses and don’t know what it means to be a widow or to be divorced. Don’t be silenced by those who don’t know what it means to be a single mother.

Don’t be silenced by those who have faithful husbands and don’t know what it means to be cheated. Don’t be silenced by those who have children, and don’t know the pains of barrenness. Don’t be silenced by those who have obedient children and don’t know how it feels to have rebellious kids …

You are the one in the painful situation. You know it better, cry out loud today to Jesus till he stops and calls out for you.

When the blind Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus who was passing, he had to make a choice. Either to sit down lamenting on his situation and let Jesus pass or ask for healing.

When we come for church, we are presented with a privileged opportunity to meet Jesus. You are standing on Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, ministered to by myriads of angels (cf. Heb 12:22). Jesus the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek of old, is passing by you today. You are either the crowd or Bartimaeus.

It was obvious Bartimaeus was blind and yet Jesus asks him “what do you want me to do for you?” This same question was asked last week to John and James and they asked for power. The question today is “what do I want”.

This is not so easy. You may be blind and yet not knowing ur blind. Some men in Kenya were drinking illegal traditionally brewed spirits (tototo) which make you go blind. As these men got blind they shouted, “even if you switch off the lights, we will continue drinking”.

Bartimaeus knew what was wrong with him. Be clear in your mind of what you are asking for today no matter how impossible it may seem. Eph 3:20 “Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine”.

As Bartimaeus was running to Jesus, he had not yet been healed but he threw off his cloak. This was a cloak he was using to collect gifts, money from people when begging. It was all he had to cover his body. It was his security!

The throwing away of the cloak meant throwing away old ways, a change of life, a change of life style. Bartimaeus is saying, I am not going back to this old business of begging again. He knows that when he meets Jesus he will not be the same again.

The new life Bartimaeus embraced was to follow Jesus on his way to Jerusalem (v.52), where he suffered, died and rose. This is why this blind man is mentioned by name, he was a known disciple in the community of Mark.

Don’t be silenced.