What do you do when life becomes dark and confused?
How do you get by to the next day when the uncertainty of the next day is so anxiety ridden that two days blend into one long, sleepless night and day?
Would it not be nice if you could look into the future and see whether or not everything will turn out well?
When things in life are dark and uncertain, people will tell you, “Everything is going to be O.K.” as if they somehow are able to peer into the future.
When they say this, you know that the person is one of two things; either lying or they are some sort of future predicting witch. If they are a witch, then the only conclusion as we have learned from history is that they should be burned at the stake. Luckily for you and the person speaking to you, chances are pretty good that they are not a witch.
Of course, that means that the person is lying and actually is in the same boat as you and has absolutely no idea that anything is going to be O.K. For all they know, tomorrow could be the end of civilization as we know it.
The truth is that the person simply cannot handle the darkness that you face. So, they push you away like you are the town’s blind man left to fend for himself on the side of the road.
Poor blind Bartimaeus. His life has been dark for a long time. His life has led him to the beautiful vistas of the side of the road where the smell of road kill and donkey excrement can be enjoyed by the blind all for free! Yet, there is a little hope in the darkness…a coin here…a bit of bread there.
You think you have it bad. Not only is this man’s future dark, he literally could not see his future if it approached on foot.
What do you do when life becomes dark and confused?
How do you get by to the next day?
One of the tactics that the Psalmists use to get through those sleepless nights, when anxiety takes over the mind and the darkness of the future oppresses, is that they remember. They remember. But, they do not remember just any old thing. They think back to those times before when they thought their worlds were coming to an end and God pulled them through.
Listen to these words from Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
First, notice that the Psalmist here does not let God off the hook. The Psalmist still feels free to accuse God of not taking action when taking action would have been a great thing: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
However, the Psalmist does not remain in that accusatory space for long. The Psalmist does not remain in the darkness of their thoughts, wandering aimlessly. Rather, they move rather quickly to remembering.
“Yet you are holy…in you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.”
The Psalmist remembers the last time that the world felt like it was going to end, and the Psalmist also remembers that God pulled them through. They trusted in God, and God delivered.
This sort of uncertain trust is a wisdom that comes in time.
It is the wisdom that the High School student starts to gain when the horrors of the first test pass and there is another day, another test, another opportunity. You quickly learn that if God could bring you through the first time, God can do it again.
It is the wisdom that is gained after the first boyfriend or girlfriend is let go and the teen learns that it is possible to overcome the painful, heartbreak in order date and love once again. If God could heal you after the first breakup, God can do it again.
It is the wisdom that comes when you realize that even though you may not know what the future looks like beyond the darkness, you trust that Jesus will be standing there in the darkness with you.
That is exactly what blind Bartimaeus does. When he hears that Jesus is approaching, he cries out into the darkness, trusting that Jesus might show mercy, trusting that Jesus will, somehow, make things right. Even more, when Jesus calls to him, Bartimaeus gets up and walks to Jesus.
Do not let that fact just slip by you as your mind begins to wander to compiling your shopping list or preparing for the upcoming hunting season. Did you catch what just happened? A blind man, got up and walked over to Jesus.
He's blind. How did he know where he was going?
How did he know that he would get to Jesus?
How did he know that his stumbling through the darkness would bring him to a place of goodness and healing?
How did he know?
The truth is, he did not know.
Bartimaeus did not know where he was going.
He did not know if he would reach Jesus.
He did not know if Jesus would do anything, much less be good and bring healing.
He did not know any of these things, but he remembered.
He remembered the stories of those who passed by on the road. He remembered the whispers of healing and frantic cries of joy passing by. He remembered, so he got up, stumbled into the darkness and trusted that Jesus would somehow, in some way find him.
Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again."
Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well."
What do you do when life becomes dark and confused?
How do you get by to the next day?
I believe that blind Bartimaeus was meant to encounter you today. I believe that you were meant to see blind Bartimaeus on the side of the road; this man who gets up and wanders ahead in the darkness despite not being able to see anything because he trusts that no matter what happens, Jesus is there.
What do you do when life becomes dark and confused? You walk ahead anyway, trusting that Jesus is there.
Many Protestant churches celebrate Reformation Sunday, but it is not primarily a celebration of Luther and the other reformers, though can be part of it. Rather, it is primarily a celebration of a truth from Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”
In other words, we celebrate the faith of Bartimaeus, who trusts that God can save and heal.
But, even more than celebrating our faith, we celebrate the faithfulness of the one who meets us in the darkness every single time (even that last time when we will finally be with him forever and ever): Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus is the one who calls to us in the darkness. He is the one who brings healing. He is the one who does not forget us on the side of the road. He is the one who is worthy of following.
“Immediately [Bartimaeus] regained his sight and followed him on the way.” And, so do we…even on the dark days, we too follow…because we remember and trust the goodness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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