Many years ago, on Saturday Night Live, there was a character called “Debbie Downer”.  Just as the stuffing is being passed around at Thanksgiving, Debbie looks worried: “You know turkey stuffing is the No. 1 cause of food poisoning.” When friends announce a fun trip to Costa Rica, Debbie frowns, “Sure hope Hurricane Carl isn’t still killing people in that region—147 dead so far.  And malaria is on the rise there.”

We all know someone who talks so much about their fears and worries that they pull everyone down into a depressing spiral.  Reality is hard! Today, the blind man, Bartimeus, faced a bleak future.  In those days, blindness would not have been curable, ever—so he had no realistic hope that anything could change for him; so, begging was his only means of income.  The apostles told Bartimeus to pipe down and quit bothering Jesus.  They probably urged Jesus to ignore him and keep walking. But Bartimeus was no whiner; he had a great longing in his heart to see.  And he also had a childlike faith in Jesus’ power. 

Notice that Jesus’ first question to the man was, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus does not make the decision for Bartimeus, or for us.  Jesus wants us to look deeply and speak the truth from our hearts.  But more impressive is that Bartimeus “sprang up” and went to Jesus.  He was not in a victim posture.  He went after what he knew he deeply wanted.

Do we really know what we want?  And are we prepared for the consequences of getting what we want?  Let’s be ready to “spring up” when Jesus asks, “What do YOU want me to do?”