Today's Devotonal

 Brought to you by Prayer Warrior Jon Vasgar 

                                                                     "You Ask Amiss"

Verses
Mark 10:36-38, 43-44 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask... Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all." (NKJV)

Mark 10:46-52
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!" 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 rose and came 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 well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (NKJV)

Thoughts:

I found this passage of the Bible really interesting to read. Why? Because here we find two different mindsets. The disciples were desperate for Jesus' approval. They wanted Him to do whatever they asked him to. So, they thought they'd be "Super Spiritual" and ask to sit on his left and right sides. After all, they were HIS disciples, so He liked them best, right? I love that Jesus said basically, "You don't know what you're asking, think it through." God's call was not an easy cushy road, but a hard, dark, scary path that would lead to death here on earth for many who chose to follow Him, only then to live a life everlasting with the Saviour.

It seems backwards to think that he who seeks to be first shall be last and he that serves all will ultimately be served. But, that's how it works. Think about it. Jesus came as a servant, and is now ascended on high, our Lord and coming King.

To drive home His point, Jesus then finds a beggar, seemingly moments after the whole, "who's cool enough to be with Jesus", argument. We find a beggar who has but one request. Not to be famous, not to be part of Jesus' entourage, but to receive his sight. I like to look at this as more than just going from blind to seeing. What about for the disciples? Did they realize that they were blind in their own right? Did they catch that they needed to be able to see? And when Bartimaeus could see, he followed the Lord. He could see clearly and knew what he was to do.

Michael Catt said, "Only desperate people get to the point where it's not about them but about the Lord". (From his excellent book, "The Power of Desperation" pg 182.) The disciple made it all about them. After all, hadn't Jesus said, "Seek and you will find."? (Matthew 7:7) But, He wasn't talking about earthly finding. He was talking about finding Him. Jeremiah 29:13 "And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (KJV)

Notice that the disciples said, "we want you to do for us". The beggar said, "have mercy on me". We need to approach God the same way. Last year, I did the same thing the disciples did. I basically told God, "I want You to give me this thing. You don't love me if I don't get it." Well, I lost it and guess what? I lost it because He loves me.

In losing what we so desperately cling to, we often find God. He has to bring us to our breaking point, our point of no return, our desperation, to show us that it's not about us, it's really all about Him. "Sometimes we can see more through our tears than through a telescope." (Michael Catt pg 170 ibid)

Let God bring you to the brink. Hey, even hang a foot off the edge if you have too. It's at that point, when all is seemingly lost, that we find God is right there. He's been there, waiting for you to stop your "it's all about me" fest and focus on Him. It's the new year, time to shift our focuses off ourselves, and say, "What would you have me do Lord?"

Prayer:

I have no prayer today except to pray for all of us. Prayer that you would find time alone to spend with our Lord and ask Him, "What do you want me to do Lord?" Then, let Him do what He will. After all, He promised in Psalms 37:4-5 "Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring [it] to pass." What are your desires? Are they God's desires? Let Him lead you.

Song: