Easter Devotional - I once was blind, but now I see.
"I once was blind, but now I see"
Blindness can appear in many different forms, but it always keeps the person from being all they could be. As Jesus approached Jerusalem he encountered a blind man named Bartimaeus who was begging. He was doing all he knew to do to get by in life, but desperately wanting more. There was so much more to who he was and what he could do, but no one knew that because he was blind. He knew there should be more to life than what he was getting. He heard Jesus was going by and Bartimaeus cried out "have mercy on me!"
Jesus stopped and asked him "What do you want me to do for you?"
"I want to see" the blind man replied, with all the hope and determination he could stir up from within his heart.
"Your faith has healed you" and the power of Jesus' words made it so. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus.
In what ways are you 'blind'? - everyone is. What is it you desperately try to overcome but that consistently keeps you from being the person God intended you to be when He made you? This Easter season are you ready, like Bartimaeus, to cry out to Jesus "have mercy on me!" Are you ready to ask Jesus to change that part of you? Are you ready to follow Him where ever He may go?
All of the Gospels describe Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with cries of "Hosanna!". Hosanna originally was a cry for "help us", "save us", but by the time it was used here it was a cry of adoration reserved only for a sovereign ruler. What better term could be used to herald Jesus into the city where He would ultimately die in a few days? He is the sovereign of all rulers and the only one who could help us or save us.
- Thank God that His son was both the sovereign of all creation, the King of Kings, and also the only one who could save you.
- Confess to Him where you are blind and need His help.
- Listen to His Spirit as he shows you the things in your life that He would like to use to display His glory.
- Ask Him to change you, to heal your blindness and give Him the areas of your life that He has just shown you.
- Thank Him for His love for you that never walks by you.
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Zechariah 9:9
an ancient prophesy (487 B.C.)