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Title: Our Hope Deeply Moves Him
Date: November 23, 2021

The following story reminds me of a saying I heard once: Hope is louder than the crowd. Let’s read the following verses with that thought in mind.

Matthew 9:27-31
     As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us, son of David.” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got louder and louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us, son of David.”
     Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?”
     They said, “Master we want our eyes opened. We want to see.”
     Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant and joined the procession.

Scripture does not explain whether these two men were blind from birth or if it was a result of something else. Regardless, they were completely in the dark! When they heard that Jesus was approaching them, they started shouting with hope that Jesus would help them, however the crowd tried to shut them up. I find some parallels here that I think we can relate to nowadays. When believing gets hard sadly isn’t it often the “crowd”….the louder voices, the circumstances we see with our own eyes, or the sometimes negative and faithless opinions of others? Or how about the wickedness in this world we see, hear and read about that causes fear and doubt?

All these voices in the crowd can at times drown out and diminish our hope, our faith. This is not a time to retreat. Those two blind men didn’t! They were certainly at a disadvantage. They had reason to want to give up on life, but they didn’t. Instead, their hope got louder than the crowd! Their faith rose above the noise!

Verse 30-31 describes the reaction of Jesus when the men expressed their desire with bold and persistent faith. Scripture tells us Jesus was DEEPLY MOVED. I love that so much. The picture of Jesus really taking notice of their hope gives me great comfort. And the amazing part is their hope resulted in their healing! Folks, our desired healings, whatever they may be, whether spiritual, physical, or for the condition of our world…It’s not how good we are being, or how much we tithe…or whatever, you fill in the blank…It’s how much hope we have that causes Jesus to take notice! That alone gives me great joy! It gives me tremendous confidence for the things I am praying over!

Choosing to continue praying with an attitude and expectation of divine intervention has to be a deliberate decision. 2 Corinthians 5:7 puts it this way: We live by faith, not by sight. In other words, we live by what we believe, not what we can see. The two blind men were a great testament to that. Their disability was not designed to destroy them, it was designed to call them to hope! We cannot expect to have hope unless it has been given through suffering. And despite it sounding trite, hope never fails!

I would like to point out that behind the healing of the blind men, there is an even deeper meaning to this story. Jesus’ healing here is a metaphor for the healing of souls. Jesus’ true concern was with spiritual blindness more than physical. I find it interesting to note that these men came by faith to be healed physically. However, it shows that Jesus had already begun to reveal himself to their souls. They had already been given their spiritual sight. All of the miracles Jesus performed were an after effect of spiritual hope! This is true for us today as well. This is why we must hold tightly to our hope and never allow it to be squandered!

As we gather around our tables this week surrounded by friends and family, may we give thanks to God for all things, but especially for our hope in Jesus Christ. He is the reason we can live victoriously. He is the reason we can remain joyful. In a sense let us invite Him to pull up a chair at our table. May our hope-filled hearts cause Him to notice… and Jesus may you be deeply moved!

Proverbs 29:25
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

Psalm 43:5
Why are you downcast oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 147:11
But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, and those who hope in his steadfast love.

So much is said about having a winning attitude. Having such an attitude is always provoked by hope. Whether in business, sports or anything one should set his or her mind to, it clearly makes a difference in the outcome. There are many words that describe the word winning, such as acquiring, capturing and occupying. I love these words in regard to God and they are all ours for the taking….However my favorite word for winning is realizing. Isn’t that interesting? To have a winning attitude we must realize the possibilities. Similarly, regarding hope, we must realize the possibilities. With our Heavenly Father as the author of all our dreams we will never lose! Hope will always be alive and the possibilities are endless!

Praise be to the One who has equipped us with all we need, and may all the longings of our heart become our beautiful reality, now and forever more!

Delighting in safe pasture,
Linda