Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes,
his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Mark 8:25
At some point in your life, you’ve probably struggled to maintain your passion to finish a project of some sort. Along came a well-meaning Sally Sunshine and reminded you that, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” You may have smiled on the outside, perhaps even thanked them for the great reminder, but on the inside you were tired and just wanted it to be that day when Rome was actually finished.
Some projects just take time — even though we would rather have instant results. As I was reading the gospel of Mark today I noticed an interesting thing about someone who came to Jesus for healing — it took some time. All of the previous healing encounters were instant, but here came this blind man and Jesus healed him incrementally. Here’s how the passage reads, from Mark 8:23-25:
And he 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?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
That was a new twist in the long list of healings Jesus had performed up to that point — healing in two stages. I’m not going to comment from a theological perspective (since I’m not one), but I’d like to comment from a personal perspective. Here are all the things I love about how this blind man was incrementally healed and what it could mean for me:
If I come to the Lord asking for healing and I don’t receive all that I’ve asked for, I have permission to be honest and say so — I can admit it’s not perfect.
The implication is that I can be thankful for what I have received, even if it’s not 100% complete.
The implication is that I can ask for more healing.
The underlying message from this encounter is a reminder about patient perseverance rather than a reliance on instantaneous results.
I know this blind man’s incremental healing was a minority experience in the Gospels. But in our lives, don’t you feel that incremental healing is a majority experience? Have you not experienced praying for healing or restoration and had to apply patient perseverance way more often than you’ve enjoyed instant results?
What is your prayer request right now? Are you asking for the restoration of a relationship? Incremental restoration is a win — keep asking! Are you asking for physical healing? Incremental healing is a real experience — thank the Lord for what he has done and be honest about your further needs.
How does this relate to me? Well, I do feel that God has been present in my treatments thus far to offer incremental healing. However, I can identify with the blind man when he was honest about his sight — it wasn’t great yet. If I were to be honest, I would say that I feel my cancer is very likely under control, but I’d like further healing from this neuropathy — I’d really love to be able to use my fingers again! So, that’s what I’m asking for — further healing for my fingers and toes.
Today I’ll be meeting with my oncology radiologist who will prescribe my radiation treatments, then I’ll move on to my fourth and final (kinda final) phase of treatment and hopefully get this all buttoned up before Christmas!
My Love & Blessings,
Sue