I wish more of us in the church would get tired of standing on the sidewalk of spectator Christianity while the “Jesus parade” goes by. Somebody needs to get hungry enough to cry out. Somebody needs to get desperate enough to arrest the attention of heaven and say, “I’m not going to let You pass me by, Lord. I thank You for what You have done, but I’m desperate for what You can do”
Most people have a persistent picture of Jesus Christ reaching out to the blind, the demonized, and the physically handicapped. There isn’t anything wrong with this picture because He does come to us. We know from the Scriptures that we love Him because He loved us first. The problem arises when you let this one-dimensional view limit your response to Him. The fact is that really desperate people often reach out to Him using every means available.
What picture of the Master “hangs in the wall of your memory”? Is He coming to you or to others in need, or are you running to Him? Do you unconsciously expect Him to always come to you in times of need or do you understand your responsibility to run to Him as well?
· Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus with all of the power his lungs could muster.
· The woman suffering from incurable and chronic blood hemorrhage pursued Him in the middle of a crushing crowd. She risked everything just to secretly touch the hem of His garment—which may indicate that she approached Jesus from behind on her hands and knees while using one hand to fend away the feet of the crowd pressing around and above her.
· The persistent mother from Canaan pursued Him beyond the accepted boundaries of social, racial, and religious protocols—she was desperate to win deliverance for her daughter.
· The demoniac possessed by a legion of demons rushed to meet Jesus at the lake shore with his body covered by nothing but the blood from his self-mutilation.
· The desperate friends of the paralyzed man confined to a litter resorted to property damage and “breaking and entering” to place him in the presence of the Healer.
It is sobering to realize that none of these responses would be considered “acceptable” in the typical North American church service! I long for the day it is not only acceptable but common for the lost and hurting to cry out and run to Him in our worships services.
If these responses were acceptable to Jesus Christ, why would they be unacceptable in churches today? What would you do if you knew you had to capture the attention of God in some way?
Bartimaeus couldn’t even see the one he was chasing. He was incapable of effectively pursuing Jesus in a physical way, yet it was this blind beggar who became the “God Catcher” that day. How did he do it?
… What did Bartimaeus do to arrest the momentum of the Messiah? Examine the words he sent from his heart to the ears of God. He said, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He worshiped! With all the passion, hunger, and desperation in his being, the son of Timaeus arrested the attention of the Son of God. Radical praise brings radical presence!
What Do You Think?
Worship comes in many forms. It can touch Him through the slightest brush of a finger against the hem of a garment. It can reach Him through the hoarse-voiced cry of the vocal cords, or it can traverse time and space without a sound as a silent scream of passionate desperation from a broken heart.
Desperate worship stops God in His tracks no matter what social strata it comes from. All are equal in His sight. If God would stop the parade of the universe long enough to change these two human destinies forever, what could He do for you?
1. What do you think? Do you really believe that your desperate worship could actually “stop God”?
2. Re-read the passage above and answer the question again (or as many times as it takes until your answer is yes).
Scripture Reading: Matthew 15:22-28, where the widow from Canaan arrests the attention of Jesus and receives a miracle through the persistent and passionate faith.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Prayer Lord, I don’t want to be presumptuous and I don’t want to be too proud to cry out to You either. All I know is that I need You more than I need the approval and blessings of anyone else. I love my family and friends, but they can give me what You can—the privilege of dwelling in Your presence. If I’m desperate enough to cry out to You, then maybe I can arrest Your attention and catch You once more with my passionate worship.
This devotion taken from the God Chasers Network
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