Mensa Otabil - Defy the Resistance
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Everything we want to achieve in life requires effort, and effort always faces resistance. So, when you make an effort to move forward, there will be something trying to push you to either stay where you are or go backward. That is why, when we’re pursuing anything in life, we have to be ready to push through resistance and go beyond it.
Mark chapter 10, verse 48 says, «Then many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me! '» What is this about? It’s a story of a blind man named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was a blind man around Jerusalem on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he had a spot there where he begged. One day, he heard that Jesus was passing by. By the rumors he had heard about Jesus, he knew that Jesus could perform miracles. Some blind people had already received their sight, and some crippled people had walked. Other miracles had happened.
So, Bartimaeus, when he heard Jesus was coming by, decided that if He was passing by his spot, he would not be silent and would not sit quietly for Jesus to walk by. Even before Jesus got to where Bartimaeus was, he started crying out, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!» He cried it over and over. Jesus passed him by while he was still crying, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!» People told him to be quiet, and that’s what the passage says: «Many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! '»
Jesus heard him, turned back, and said, «Bring the man to me.» Bartimaeus eventually received the miracle he was praying for. This is what we call active faith. Active faith is not just believing that God will do it but also working and taking steps to be or to receive what God says you will receive. Bartimaeus was not passive about his faith; he believed Jesus could heal him and that Jesus was the Son of God, so he called on Him.
But watch what happened: people were trying to push him back; people were trying to resist him; people were telling him to be quiet because Jesus was not interested in him. But active faith does not take «no» for an answer, because many people believe that God will work a miracle for them, but only a few are willing to pursue and work towards that miracle. When I say work towards that miracle, it means that you’re going to pray, you’re going to believe God, and you’re going to hold high your faith.
Now for Bartimaeus, there were many times he cried without any response, and sometimes it happens to us when we pray and we don’t get a response. We pray, and we don’t get a response. «Oh, Jesus, help me!» and nothing happens. «Jesus, help me!» and nothing happens. And then we give up and say, «Well, I don’t think this works anyhow.» But Bartimaeus didn’t say that. He said, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!» Jesus was walking by and didn’t respond to him, but he kept crying until, when it seemed like Jesus was way out there, he called for Him.
If you believe God is a prayer-answering God and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, then seek the Lord diligently and trust Him. Pray without ceasing and trust Him that even if you didn’t get a response today, tomorrow He’ll give you one. If you don’t get a response tomorrow, then the next day you might receive one. But you’re going to be like Bartimaeus; you’re going to cry until you receive your miracle, and that applies to everything we want to achieve in life. Sometimes it’s not about praying to God, but about pursuing a dream, pursuing a hope. Sometimes you try, and then you fail. You try again, but it doesn’t work, and you try to put your life together, but things just unravel.
Over time, people just give up and say, «You know what? I don’t think this will work.» That’s not what faith does; we believe until the end, we persist until the end. So don’t sit quietly; don’t abandon your hope, don’t abandon your dreams. Don’t just shut down because everybody says to. Stand firm in the Lord. Trust Him, because this year the Lord will bless you. The Lord will give you something positive; the Lord will turn your life around, and the miracle is going to come to you. You will be the person that God says you will be. So don’t keep quiet; keep trusting God, keep talking to the Lord. Your breakthrough is coming.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me not to give up on myself. I refuse to sit and let life pass me by. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»