Change Clothes

“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, Son of David have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you. And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, what do you want Me to do for you? The blind man said to Him, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to him, go your way; your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”

Mark 10:46-52

There is so much to unpack and marinate on, from this opening Scripture. Do you know where you are going to? Are you sitting where you should not be? There is provision and power in being there, as it is written, “I can not do nothing until you get there.” Often like blind Bartimaeus, we find ourselves at our own Jericho’s, forgetting that Jesus has already brought down the walls that has held us prisoners. We will always come to a Jericho or a mountain, but it is Jesus’s intent for us to come out of it; as He did in the Scripture. We can’t just sit there and feel sorry for ourselves, but we have to get up and keep it moving. As it is written, “You have been at this mountain long enough.” I am not saying that we can not hurt or cry, for Jesus Himself wept, but I am saying that we can’t remain there like we want to die. Anything that has stopped moving or staying afloat will become very attractive to the vultures, scavengers, and bottom feeders of the world.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Nothing else except the name of Jesus has the power to break every chain. Never stop shouting or saying His name, no matter who tries to silence you. Don’t let life stop you from coming to Him. There is a time and a place for everything; seasons change and people will always come in and out of your life. But be of good cheer, let nothing remove your voice.

Do not be silent, but keep on speaking.

If you are asking yourself, “How can I praise and worship God, when life has sucker punched me with so much loss, pain, and suffering?” Well God never said it was going to be easy, or promised us a bed of roses. But the Word did say, “Remember Job and all his afflictions; as well as Remember Christ and Him crucified.” And as it is written, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God will deliver them from it all.” But praise and worship is not about having something good happening for us to do it; but true worship is taking everything off that hinders you, and putting on Christ. The Lord has already rebuked the enemy and removed our filthy garments. Now it’s up to us to get out of our Jericho by following Christ.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God will deliver them from it all.

To strip is simply going to the heart of the matter and remaining in the Potters House. It’s up to us, through prayer, that everything that ails us will be removed at root and not grow on us anymore. So much so, repentance is simply leaving the bull at the altar.