Pastor's Pen November 20, 2010
|
Desperate Cries
Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying,
“Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” Matthew 20:31
Do you feel hopeless? Perhaps your situation in life is hard. You struggle to understand. You ask yourself, “Why am I in this situation? Why has God put me here?” Maybe that’s how the two blind men felt as they sat by the roadside near Jericho. Their opportunities were few. Their days were long. Their life was hard. Suddenly their hearts were filled with hope. They heard that Jesus was passing by. They’d heard of His mighty power and His great compassion to others. Maybe He would show compassion on them! They cried out saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
The crowd that was following Jesus immediately told them to be quiet. Imagine, desperately needing a touch from Jesus and when you cry out everyone tells you to stop. Have some decorum. Control yourself. But they weren’t about to miss this opportunity. They cried out all the more, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” What would Jesus do? Would He agree with the crowd and reprimand them? The Bible says He stopped and called them saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” How marvelously sweet these words must have been to the blind men. Jesus had heard their desperate cries. He was going to help them. Imagine what they felt as hope turned to joy. “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight and they followed Him. (Matthew 20:34)
Perhaps this is why God allows us to be in difficult situations. He wants us to cry out to Him. The crowd around us may call for decorum but our hearts want to cry out the more, “Have mercy on me O Lord.” God is not hesitant to show compassion and move in power on our behalf. He responds to desperate cries today just as He did then.
Are we desperate for God? We’re asking Him to send revival...to pour out His Spirit. But are we desperate to see Him do it? I just viewed a DVD documentary entitled Appalachian Dawn. It tells how the people of Manchester Kentucky, facing an escalating drug problem that was taking the lives of more and more of their children finally said, “Enough is enough!” They were desperate to see God change their situation and they began to cry out to Him in prayer. God moved in a mighty way and the people of Manchester are experiencing revival. Things are turning around. Corruption is being exposed and the powers of darkness are being pushed back.
Maybe we need to see our difficulties as divine aids to bring us to desperation before God. Perhaps if we ignore the crowd calling for decorum and cry out to our God for mercy He will have compassion on us and show us His mighty power. We won’t know unless we do it. It’s time for desperate cries!
Pastor Dan
|
|