And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.  MAR: 10: 46-49- KJV)

 

I wonder if we are standing still or not listening when our name is called?  Quite often, when my name is called, I do not stop what I am doing.  I will answer, but I will continue the task at hand.  In this parable about blind Bartimaeus, it says that when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he began to cry out.  I know of a certainty from a mom’s and grandma’s perspective that when one of our children or grandchildren cries out, I begin to move and move quickly. I want to know what the problem is and how I can help to alleviate it. However, how many of us are stopping to hear Jesus when He calls our name?  Jesus ear was tuned to Bartimaeus cry and he heard him.  The question is are our ears tuned to the ear of Christ and do we hear His voice as he beckons for us?  For some of us, we think Jesus would not call our names, but it we are not listening, how would we know? We need to ask ourselves are we listening for our name to be called? How many of us may be hearing the cry it may not be a physical cry of another person and know that Jesus wants us to stand still.

It amazes me how we can read the word of God, believe what it says, but not act on it.  Whether we may know it or not, Jesus does call our name. Are we standing still?  Each of us were created to start, build, design, complete, and accomplish a lot of things in this world and only we can do what our Father has assigned us to.   God created us for a specific purpose that no one else can fulfill. 

We may think we are inadequate, unworthy, not capable, unsure, doubtful, ashamed, hopeless, and unimportant, you get the message, but God does call our name.  Because God still wants us why are we not availing ourselves to Him to do the assignment He has for us? Our habits of not finishing our assignments in the natural, especially if it is a task that we do not desire to finish, falls over into the spirit realm.

 

It says; And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. V.48.  Perhaps you are warring in the natural and saying that God can’t be calling my name.  What would He want with me?  After all I am no good to anybody.  I am not as educated as the next person, I cannot articulate as well as the next person, I am not a good dresser, or as handsome or pretty as they are, etc.  If you are hearing those things, then you need to do as Bartimaeus did and cry out to God a great deal more.  Ask Him, God are you calling my name?  We do not need to listen to the voice on the devil trying to defeat us, he is a liar and the father of it.

 

People of God let me assure you that God is calling our name, the question is; are we answering?  If your answer is yes, how are you answering?  What is our attitude or disposition when answering the call?  Do we find yourselves hesitating when your name is called?  Are we slothful, or too busy?  Are we in a stage of expectancy to hear when our name is called?

There is a certain posture we must be in to not only hear God call, but to answer that call.   Are we listening after our name is called, or are you like me who can hear my name being called, yet if there is no urgency continue to do whatever it is I was doing without looking up. Oh we can make many excuses as to why we do what we do when our name is called, however, that is all it is an excuse. 

 

In closing, I want to let you know it is written:  And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. (Mar: 10:49)

 

If Jesus can take the time to stand still when His name is called, why can’t we?  The next time that our Lord and Savior calls our name, please stand still.  Let’s make it a practice to faithfully listen to the small quite voice of our Savior and stand still when our name is called.