FAITHLESSNESS AND UNBELIEF ARE SPOILERS!
TEXT
"And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly." (Mark 8 verses 24 to 25, King James Version).
From the story of the blind man of Bethsaida, we have much to learn; particularly on the impact of faith on our quests for God's intervention in our lives..
There are many things unusual about what transpired in regards to the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida. Firstly, we note that it was unusual for the Lord to inquire about the results of His ministrations to men. But in this case, the Bible says, "and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought." (Mark 8 verse 23). Secondly, more unusual was for the Lord to have laid hands on the blind man a second time (Mark 8 verse 25). This was because after the first laying of the Lord's Hands, the healing was incomplete, thereby necessitating a second touch from the Lord. It's obvious that having lived in Bethesda, the blind man had become full of unbelief that he had become a true and perfect representation of it, a city that was avowedly known for unbelief (see Matthew 11 verse 21). It's worthy of particular note that in the entire gamut of the New Testament narrative, this was the only incident where the Lord Jesus had to minister to any need more than once in order to secure a complete healing.
But what was responsible for these anomalies? Faithlessness and unbelief, of course! Bethsaida, as we noted above, was a town in Jesus' days that was noted for unbelief (Matthew 11 verse 21). This accounted for why the Lord Jesus had to do another unusual thing to the blindman. The Bible says that "he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town:” before He could minister to him (Mark 8 verse 23). In order to see results, like it was with Jesus, it's imperative that we remain sensitive to the Spirit's guidance in whatever we do.
Another beautiful lesson to learn from the account of the blind man of Bethsaida is that we should never get discouraged because we do not receive from God at the first instance we make our requests. Many people measure the success of their petitions to God by looking for sensory circumstances to see if their prayers have been answered by Him .This is absolutely wrong as it amounts to walking by sensory perceptions and not by faith (2nd Corinthians 5 verse 7). They think that if they don't see God's answer in the physical realm, it means that He has not answered them.
For sure, we can affirm that what necessitated Jesus to lay His Hands on the blind man the second time wasn't because He felt that God had not heard His request at that first time. After all, He knew that God the Father heard Him always (John 11 verse 42). What's more, the partial healing of the blindman ("seeing men as trees, walking" - Mark 8 verse 24) was enough evidence that God's healing power was already at work in him. The Lord Jesus laying hands on him the second time was rather because He felt that unbelief was hindering the manifestation of God's power in the blind man. It's therefore not true that Jesus was repeating His request to the Father the second time for the man's healing.
The lesson to learn from this is that satan may hinder, especially through unbelief; but as we resist him "steadfast in the faith" (1st Peter 5 verse 9), "he will flee from" us (James 4 verse 7).
Henceforth, never get disappointed by negative physical manifestations, especially after you have prayed to God. Rather, believe that you have received answers to your requests after you have prayed (John 16 verse 24; Matthew 21 verse 22; Mark 11 verse 24). With steadfastness as you continue to minister and apply the power of God in that situation, irrespective of the negative physical manifestations you see, you'll be victorious, in Jesus name..
PRAYER:
Father, I remain steadfast in faith, trusting that by Christ's Victory for me, I have overcome all my trials and temptations, in Jesus name.