He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
—Mark 8:23-25 (NLT)
One of my favorite Bible verses is found in Hebrews 4:16. It tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” In a system of belief that so often highlights the importance of humility, this bible verse reminds us that humility is not necessarily synonymous with docility or passivity. When a person has a vision or a dream for their life, hidden in their heart, humility does not require for that person to settle for less than they have been desiring. Remember, Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to “come boldly before... our gracious God.” Because of Christ, there is much we are entitled to. Let us never use passiveness or timidity as reasons to water down our dreams and desires.
Have you ever had someone offer you something you really wanted, but when you received what they offered, it was less than what you were expecting? How did you react? Did you settle for what it was they offered? Did you say to yourself, “Well, at least they tried. Maybe, I’ll just have to settle for this. This is good enough for me anyway?” Or did you respectfully speak your case, saying out loud (and with courtesy), “This is better than what I had, but it is not exactly all that I was expecting?”
In a society that so often interprets honesty as rudeness, many are forced into believing they have to settle for things that are less than what they desire. Oftentimes, there are people who settle in the name of “humility.” They think having courage and standing by their desires will be an offense to everybody. For this reason, they are willing to take the worst ends of every transaction, in order to remain “humble.” What if the man in the verses above thought he would offend Jesus by telling Him he had not been completely healed the first time Jesus worked to heal him? Then he would have had to settle for the rest of his life, seeing “men as trees.’
What if the persistent widow (in Luke 18:1-8) thought she would offend the hard-hearted judge by persistently asking for what she believed she was entitled to. She too would have never been granted the desires of her heart. Remember, the bible equivalent to the saying “closed mouths don’t get fed” is found in James 4:2, which says “...you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Do not be passive in this life. Tell God what you want and stand by it. Do not water down what you believe you are entitled to. If you believe you deserve your dreams, go after them and never settle for less than what you’ve been expecting.
Lots of Love, XO
