The year 2013 has come and is about ending…..
It is very close to the end of the year, indeed it is less than six weeks away from Christmas!
Christmas is around the corner and you may not have any reason to look forward to celebrating.
You probably have questions running through your mind like,
“What happened to all the promises from God?
“What about the dreams, plans and ambitions I had for the year? ,
“Will this year end for me just the way it started?”
As a matter of fact, you may have given up on God!
As much as I can identify with those feelings (largely because several years ago I felt the same way, I want to share a story from the Bible, as recorded by Mark the disciple of Jesus in chapter 10 verses 46 to 52 9 (The book of Mark).
It is the story of one of my favourite characters in the Bible, Bartimaeus, reffered to as blind Bartimaeus.
“They came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus , a blind beggar was sitting by the road.
When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazerene,he began to shout “Jesus,Son of David, have mercy on me”!
Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ”Son of David ,have mercy on me”.
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him” So they called the blind man and said to him, Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.
He threw off his cloak, jumped up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ”What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied Rabbi, let me see again team management app. Jesus said to him, Go, your faith has healed you. Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.”
There are several things that we can learn from this story and apply to ourselves and our situation.
Jericho represents the place of human limits. It is a place where you cannot do anything except the Almighty God, the owner of heaven and earth helps you.
A case in point is the experience of Joshua the servant of God and leader of the Israelites. The Bible records that many years ago, Jericho stood between Israel and their destiny. In Joshua 6:1 we read that the gates of the city of Jericho were securely shut. That means that it was impossible to gain access into the city. In addition, the walls of Jericho were impregnable, but Jehovah gave Joshua and the children of Israel instructions on what to do.
It centred around giving God praise. As the children of Israel praised GOD and shouted, the walls of Jericho fell flat! Joshua 6:20).
As you make up your mind to approach God’ gates with thanksgiving and continue towards Him with praise, according to psalm 100:3-4; I see every gate of Jericho falling flat before you too.
The next thing I want you to know is that Jesus came to the place of human limits –Jericho; but He was not limited by Jericho because He is the Almighty God and has no limits. Rather, he helped someone named Bartimaeus to deal with his limits and I know that He will do the same for you.
The year may appear to have been like Jericho to you; a place of limits but I see Jesus showing up for you now, passing through to remove those limits for you. All you have to do is act in faith and shout for joy.
Notice that Bartimaeus threw away his garments immediately he got the message, that was the last thing that he did before he came to Jesus and his prayer point became a testimony.
By Kayode Ojo
The prophet Isaiah in chapter 61:3 says “to strengthen those who mourn in Zion by giving them a turban of beauty instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise instead of discouragement….”
It means that Bartimaeus came to Jesus rejoicing…he came prepared for his change so he threw away the old clothes representing blindness, shame and disgrace and he received his sight. The same can be your testimony today; come before Him rejoicing and giving thanks in faith even before you receive the answer that you desire of the Lord.
My last line is do not give up on God, rather give it up for Him in praise, He is coming through for you with an end of year testimony.
Remain blessed, see you all at the top – that is where we belong.
Kayode is a bi-vocational minister serving as an Area Pastor in The Redeemed Christian Church Of God in Lagos, Nigeria and as the Chief Executive Officer of publicly quoted company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He is married with a son and currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria.
