Lessons from a Blind Beggar (Luke 18)

1. Show up. It was supposed to be just another ordinary day of sitting by the roadside and begging. Nothing glamorous. But this man showed up for ‘work’ and for life. You never know what surprises are in store for you.
2. No matter what your limitations are, put the little you’ve been given to use: ‘He heard the crowd going by.’ He couldn’t see, but at least he could hear.
3. Be curious in life. Ask questions. He could’ve said to himself, I’m blind, so it doesn’t matter what’s happening around me. But: ‘... he asked what was happening.’
4. Believe that there is hope. He did so and called out to Jesus.
5. Don’t allow circumstances to quieten you, stifle the voice of your vision, or quench your zeal. Don’t give in to the inferiority complex that others may be trying to impose on you. They tried to hush him up, ‘but he shouted all the more.’ When circumstances try to disarm us, we must become all the more bold. Hm. I’m encouraging myself!
6. Be sure of what you want before you start making request (whether in prayer or otherwise), so that you’re not fumbling when the Savior stops at your station. There’s a day for the blind man and there’s a day for me. It seems obvious that the blind man wanted his sight, and so Jesus’ question seems redundant. But the blind man actually could’ve wanted any number of things: riches, recognition, prestige, etc. We need to know what we want Jesus to do for us so that we don’t ask amiss and so that we ask with all our heart.

All these things added up to faith. Your faith has healed you, Jesus said. Reminds me of the 4 men and the paralytic. Sometimes, faith is just about not giving up; refusing to let go until God touches you; not letting obstacles derail you; forgetting about reputational risks and other distractions that prevent us from reaching out for God with every fiber of our being.