The road out of Jericho was always well-traveled, but Bartimaeus could sense something different in the air. Just as the angle of the hot sun on the back of his neck told him the time of day, the buzz of the crowd, the whispered excitement, and the press of bodies told him the truth that his ruined eyes could not — something was stirring.
Slowly, he pieced together the scene: a Healer, a Miracle Worker named Jesus was heading his way, and the word on the street . . .? This Teacher just might be the promised Messiah.
A seasoned beggar, Bartimaeus waited until just the right moment and then poured every possible ounce of drama into his anguished plea:
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” he howled.
“Pipe down, Bartimaeus,” hissed the embarrassed townspeople, but the blind beggar called out all the louder.
In this encounter of a life time, Bartimaeus put all that he knew about Jesus into his heart’s cry, for he had a huge and impossible dream. Bartimaeus wanted to see, and he boldly broadcast his deep and urgent need to the only One in the universe who could help him.
Saying our dreams out loud can be intimidating — even frightening.
It feels vulnerable.
Exposed.
Whether it’s a career goal, a longing for intimacy, a desire for a child, or an avenue of service to God that won’t stop calling our name, it’s easy to allow the sheer size of the dream to muzzle our cry for help and to overwhelm us with fear.
Courage and Strength from an Upholding God
As a young woman, I believed that God was calling me to teach the Bible, and so I volunteered for a summer ministry that landed me in front of a crowd of rowdy kids with nothing in my trembling hands but my Bible and a few flash cards. Thinking that preparation — knowing my material inside out – would chase away the terror, I studied hard with a pounding heart.
One evening, my team leader flipped the pages of my Bible away from the story of blind Bartimaeus and into the book of Isaiah, handing me a torch of Truth that re-ignites even today whenever I sit around a circle of women with open Bibles:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
That young woman who hid behind her long hair and struggled to make eye contact with the world still finds her way back into my head sometimes. When I’m standing at a microphone, or preparing to click on “publish,” or leading a stressful meeting, I’m tempted to be still, to shut down, and to believe the lie that my words don’t matter — that I am, somehow, unqualified.
When fear threatens to extract all the air from my dreams, I’m thankful for the courage and strength that come from an upholding God. Mustering every fragment of truth that I can remember about Him, I release my dream to His care, and I hear the Spirit gently whispering:
Would you rather give in to the fear and miss this opportunity?
Have you forgotten that I am the God who says, “What do you want me to do for you?”
In the light of this blazing truth, may we answer God’s omnipotence with a trust that cries out, fearless.
By grace, may we let our fear drive us to the One who casts out all fear.
Shared by Michele Morin
Oh yes, Michele!
Sometimes fear holds our tongues back from declaring our dreams…. Fear of what people would say. Yes some might think us unqualified for it but God…
Thank God for Courage we have through Him to press on.
God bless you friend
I’m so grateful for Isaiah’s reassurance that we are strengthened and upheld, even in our dreaming. And it’s great, Ifeoma, to be in community with supportive friends as well!
Yes yes. …
I couldn’t agree more.
Hugs friend
I agree, it’s easy to hold back at times from sharing our dreams, or for those old fears to creep back in, telling us we have nothing to say or no-one wants to listen. Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favourite verses. It’s so reassuring to remember that God is with us and will uphold us, and I’m glad we can encourage one another with this truth.
It’s so important to let what we know about God inform our feelings and our fears. Your words, so often, have been an encouragement to me — and to others. Standing with you, Lesley, in saying no to fear and yes to God.
Michele,
Knowing that HE is upholding me makes my GOD SIZED DREAM somehow seem possible. Thanks for sharing from your hear Michele!
Praying you continually seek after the God-sized dreams. DREAM BIG!!!
~Sherry Stahl
xoxo
Seeking after Him and trusting His promises because they are rooted in His character (and not in my worthiness), I cherish your fellowship in this following life, Sherry.
Thanks for reading and for taking time to comment.
Dear Michele, thank you for sharing God’s torch of truth. And for introducing me to this website. When I retired to begin answering God’s call to write, my daughter gave Holley’s God-sized dream book. What a game-changer! Prayers for encouragement and a loud, confident voice as you answer God’s call.
Thanks, Alice for mentioning Holley’s book. And thank you for your prayers. We have such a powerful message — may God give us courage to deliver it with confidence and enthusiasm.
Michele, you and I are definitely sisters when it comes to feeling tempted to shut down and believer our words from the Lord don’t matter. Great lesson to learn from the blind Bartimaeus to muzzle through the crowd and call out to Jesus. He was not intimated by the crowd for the ONE who created him was powerful than the crowd.
The great I AM casts out our every fear to boldly proclaim HIS Word
Diana, your neighbor from #MomentofHope
It’s so natural to pull back and shut down when we feel threatened or small, but God urges us (through the example of Bartimaeus and others as well) to come to Him desperate — so aware of our need of His help that we don’t care how it appears to others. Thanks for these words about the Great I AM who casts out fear.
This was a powerful lesson to be reminded of from Bartimaeus. I do allow myself to shut down at times. But if my desire is for the Lord to fulfill all His purposes in my life, may I call out to Him and not permit the enemy to silence me. Thank you, Michele, for these precious thoughts today! And may I say, I am so glad that you have been brave as your writing has touched me!
Thank you, Joanne. I want to continue to persevere in courage, and I can’t even count all the blessings I would have missed if I had chosen to play it safe and quiet. Even so, I know you are also aware that it’s a daily choice, and that every time we write, we risk because we share a bit more of the story that is us. I know that I’ve also been blessed by yours!
When I’m standing at a microphone, or preparing to click on “publish,” or leading a stressful meeting, I’m tempted to be still, to shut down, and to believe the lie that my words don’t matter — that I am, somehow, unqualified.<—- I felt like that last night as I wrote but then I remembered God placed this dream in my heart and it won't always be smooth sailing.
It’s so good to know that there are others out there who are going through the same process: hear, tremble, obey, repeat.
And when the sailing is rough it sure helps to remember where the dream came from in the first place.
I love Isaiah 41:10! Such tremendous fear-fighting encouragement in God’s promise to strengthen and uphold us. You’re so right, Michele, we can beat our fears by remembering the truth of God. Thanks for this reminder of His truth today!
So important to stay close to the truth. We feed our fears with lies that whisper their way into our hearts and our brains. I need the truth in front of my eyes to keep a right perspective.
Hi Michelle! I so appreciate the way you brought blind Bartimaeus’ life to LIFE. It was nice getting insight on the life of another person in the Bible. Thanks for this post on overcoming fear. Have a blessed week!
Tiffiney
WelcomeHomeMinistry.com
When we read between the lines in these spare and economically worded stories, there is so much energy and emotion there! As long as we stay true to the text, I think God delights in our reading the Word and placing ourselves right in the midst of the action so that we can enter into the whole story.
Thanks, Tiffiney, for reading! It’s always good to get your input.
Michelle — Loved this post and the timing could be better as I prepare for a presentation next week. I will hold to the verses
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
So excited for you!
The Lord bless you as you faithfully share His Word with thirsty souls. And may you find that your own soul-thirst is quenched in the study and that your heart is encouraged in the presentation of Truth!
Love this!
So glad you do! And may you sense God’s upholding hand as you move forward, fearless.
Michele, wow! I think this is the second or third post I’ve come across about fear . . . today. I think maybe, just maybe, God is telling me something about fear. 🙂 I loved your post and how you brought Bartimeus to life for me. Thank you for your exhortations!
Don’t you just love it when you read something and think . . . “Hmm, is God trying to tell me something here?”
And then you find it again.
And again.
I always think it is so good of Him to make it clear for me. I am a slow learner. 🙂
Michele, I have Isaiah 41:10 framed where I can see it. Fear of not being good enough has held me back from stepping out too many times. I dream of being fearless to explore new things without fear of failure.
Me, too, Debbie, but in the meantime, when we persevere in spite of the fear, we put the power of God on display. Thanks for faithfully sharing your journey with Him, and for encouraging so many in the process.
Michele, your words here deeply encouraged me today. Bless you, my friend. xo
What a gift that you let me know, Lyli!
I’m thankful for you and for your soldierly commitment to the fearless following!
Beautiful, Michele. Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite verses … what an amazing thought that God upholds us in His righteous right hand. Not because we deserve it or are qualified in any way, but simply because He loves us. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to trace your journey from teaching a bunch of rowdy kids to sharing your words with women across the Internet? 🙂
Yes, His upholding is just like His new mercies every morning! There, waiting for us, when we open our eyes each day. And if anyone had told that shy teen girl that one day her very favorite thing would be the sharing of words, I’m sure she would have been incredulous. God is amazing.
Yay, Michele. 🙂 I’m so glad you’ve continued to challenge the fear, because you’re such a sweet voice and clearly in your lane. 🙂 Love your term “upholding God.” ((xoxo))
Well, I love that phrase: ” . . . in your lane.”
May we all find our lanes and glorify God there!
My high school graduating class will soon celebrate our 50th anniversary (I saw photos of some of them and I don’t know how they got so old! LOL) But I was reminded of just how shy I was and how amazed I am that God would see fit to use me at all! I’m so thankful for the dreams He puts into our hearts!
You, me, and Bartimaeus.
Jesus changes everything.
May your Easter be blessed, Donna!
Amen, Michele! I left my comments over on your website!
Always good to know that you’ve been reading — and thanks for your encouragement, Pam!
Michele – I hopped on over to finish reading your post. It was just as I expected – Powerfully anointed and challenging. Challenging in a good way – you challenge us to move past fear, and step out courageously in spite of feelings. I love your leader gave you the torch of truth that day. I love your writing and I am so glad to have you linking up with #TuneInThursday each week. Thanks for linking this post last week, and I look forward to seeing you later in the week.
Coming back from a bit of a break, and so happy to know that you were challenged by Bartimaeus’s life — he definitely encourages me to come to God desperate and to pour out the contents of my dreams in His presence.
Every blessing to you!
Amen and amen Michele. How powerful He is and how present He is too. Yet we forget, fail and fall, until we turn back to the truth of His Word. This is so beautifully written. Hugs!
Thank you, Susan. Isn’t it true that we write out of our struggles — and teach out of the areas where we’re learning and trusting. So thankful for the God who upholds us and helps us to hold onto our dreams in faith.