“’Be quiet!’ Many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, ‘Tell him to come here.’”Mark 10:48-49, NLT
Fear can paralyze your potential, prevent you from reaching out for help, and prohibit you form growing closer to God. If you want to jump-start your faith, you will have to learn how to face your fears so they don’t control you.
When you choose fear over faith, your spiritual life gets trapped in a rut because the fear of emotional pain replaces the hope of God’s promises. Fear keeps you from trying to do anything new for God, and therefore limits your commitment to serve Him.
Bartimaeus, the blind man Jesus encountered in Mark 10, had to face his fear of rejection if he wanted to reach Jesus. When he shouted to Jesus, many of the people yelled, “Don’t do that. Be quiet. Don’t make a scene. Surely Jesus isn’t interested in you. He has more important things to do.”
Bartimaeus chose to live by faith rather than fear. So he continued to shout out – even louder.
To get closer to Jesus, you will need to turn your back on your fear. Your faith isn’t dependent on what others think about you. Your faith isn’t even dependent on what you think. All that matters is what God thinks.
If your fears start saying, “God isn’t interested in you,” reject them as lies. God sent His Son to save the world. Jesus cared about Bartimaeus, and he cares about you.
God’s love for you is perfect, complete, and unconditional.
Is there any fear in your life that you need to stand up to?