Have you ever played the game where someone leads another person (usually husband and wife) while one keeps their eyes closed (at least they’re supposed to!). This exercise builds trust between the two people. I can remember Larry leading me when my eyes were closed and it was frightening! Even though I could easily say I trusted him, to trust him to that extent was terrifying.
Yet, you and I are being challenged to trust God like that continually.
Here’s a passage from Mark that most of us have read many times but as I read it recently, I paid attention to something I’d never noticed before. See if you can guess what it is.
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him [Jesus] a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he [Jesus] took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” (Mark 8:22-23 ESV)
What did I pay attention to? “And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.”
The way I picture this scene is Jesus removed the blind man from all his support. I’m not sure if this is correct but it seems like they went off by themselves. At the least, the blind man must have felt challenged allowing a total stranger to lead him away from all his support and into complete dependence upon someone he hadn’t learned to trust.
I once had a very dear friend who was blind. I was totally shocked that she would lightly hold onto the crook of my arm near my elbow and trust me to lead her. In that position I went before her and if I stepped down, she could feel my body going down. (Although I was so nervous I told her there was a step!)
Interestingly, Jesus takes this man’s hand. My blind friend never wanted me to lead her by the hand because then my arm was too fluid. But if she grasped me above my elbow, there was less movement there and easier for her to sense the movement of my body.
Now maybe the blind man in the story was used to being led by the hand. The most important part is that he choose to completely trust a stranger to lead him away.
Sometimes trusting Jesus is like that. The road or path He’s guiding us down seems scary. Tweet that!
Sometimes trusting Jesus is like that. The road or path He’s guiding us down seems scary. We seem unable to “see” the purpose or plan. Maybe we’re not like the story’s blind man and instead we snatch our hand away from His saying, “Don’t take me from my friends. They know where I live and can take me home. You’re leading me away from my support. I don’t trust you!”
Maybe you can think of when that has happened to you. I’ll share in my next post how that very thing is challenging me right now.