As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

—Matthew 20:29-34 (TNIV)

This is such a poignant scene. We have two blind men desperately seeking out Jesus to heal them and a crowd who wants to stop them (isn’t that often the case??). Our Lord stops and asks them what they want. I can only imagine how this made the blind men feel. Surely they were trembling with fear and anticipation over what Jesus might be able to do for them, and Jesus delivered. Is it any wonder they followed him?

Have you looked for Jesus in desperate hope? Do you show the determined perseverance these blind men did, despite much opposition? Take a look at the amount of time you spend each day talking with Jesus and getting to know him better through the Bible. Are you connecting yourself with other faithful Christians whom the Lord can use to reach out to you and help you? Are you worshiping God every Sunday for all that he has done for you and continues to do for you? These things will give you some help in answering this question.

If you are spending but a pittance of your time in developing your relationship with Christ, why would you expect him to stop and ask you what you would like him to do for you? Your actions are speaking louder than your words. They are telling him you really don’t think he fits the bill for you.

But if you show the determination and perseverance that the two blind men did, you are telling Christ by your actions that you believe he really can help you and you will surely not be disappointed if you let him help you in ways that he determines, not you. Don’t take my word for it. Ask the hundreds of millions of people whose lives have been transformed by the Living Christ.

Just As I Am, Without One Plea

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thy love unknown
hath broken every barrier down;
now, to be thine, yea thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

—Charlotte Elliot

Lord Jesus, I believe that thou art able and willing to deliver me from all the care and unrest and bondage of my Christian life. I believe thou didst die to set me free, not only in the future, but now and here. I believe thou art stronger than sin, and that thou canst keep me, even me, in my extreme of weakness, from falling in its snares or yielding obedience to its commands. And Lord, I am going to trust thee to keep me. I have tried keeping myself, and have failed, and failed, most grievously. I am absolutely helpless. So now I will trust thee. I give myself to thee. I keep back no reserves. Body, soul and spirit, I present myself to thee as a piece of clay, to be fashioned into anything thy love and thy wisdom shall choose. And now I am thine. I believe thou dost accept that which I present to thee; I believe that this poor, weak, foolish heart has been taken possession of by thee, and that thou hast even at this very moment begun to work in me to will and to do of thy good pleasure. I trust thee utterly, and I trust thee now.

—Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life

You give your help, not in proportion to our merit but to our needs. You came for the sick and not for the healthy. How true I feel this is. I feel your love as you hold me to your Sacred Heart, my Beloved Jesus, my God, my Master, but I feel, too, the need I have of your tenderness, and of your caress because of my infinite weakness.

—Charles de Foucauld, Meditations of a Hermit

O Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd of the sheep, who came to seek the lost and to gather them to your fold, have compassion on those who have wandered from you; feed those who hunger, cause the weary to lie down in your pastures, bind up those who are broken in heart and strengthen those who are weak, that we, relying on your care and being comforted by your love, may abide in your guidance to our lives’ end; for your name’s sake. Amen

Abraham’s response [to Isaac’s question regarding where the sacrificial lamb was], sufficiently accurate and cautious moves me. I do not know what he saw in his spirit, for he does not speak about the present but about the future: “God himself will provide himself a sheep.” He responded to his son’s inquiry about present things with future things. For “the Lord himself will provide himself with a sheep” in Christ, because also “Wisdom herself has built herself a house,” and “He himself humbled himself unto death.”

—Origen, Homilies on Genesis 8.6

The time of our trials and afflictions is signified by the forty days of Lent before Easter. The time of happiness which is coming later—the time of rest, of good fortune, of eternal life, of the kingdom without end—is signified by the fifty days after Christ’s resurrection [the Easter season].

—Augustine, Sermon 254.3