​Psalms 23
 
How full is your schedule?  How much time have you set aside to simply rest in the Lord?  Every day is full of busyness and demands that we need to fulfill.  Kid's school activities are a real trial to keeping any kind of schedule for family only time.  Time to reconnect after a busy day is vital to the health of a family.
 
Even the Lord would take time away from the pressure of His day to seek restoration.  He sought time alone with His Father so that He could commune with Him and seek encouragement and reassurance.  While Jesus knows the beginning from the end, He still went to His Father for strength and comfort.  His time in the garden, His time in the desert, His transfiguration were all examples for us to follow, especially when life around us becomes more than we can handle. 
 
Jesus would take His disciples apart for a time of teaching and
companionship.  He knew His disciples needed His guidance and wisdom for the path that was before them.  He knew that they would need to be reminded to take time to rest and regain strength.  He knew that when we, His disciples, become task saturated, when we have sensory overload,
He wants us to take time with Him alone to renew our strength and clear away the distractions. He wants us to focus on Him alone so that we can once again regain our first love.
 
He even commanded us to set aside a Sabbath day so that we could spend time seeking His face and His will for our lives.  His word is filled with promises that He wants us to be familiar with.  He desires us to rest in the promise of an eternity spent with Him.

Psalms 23:1b
    
I have learned in my years of raising my sons how to determine the difference between want and need.  Many of their requests and yes, demands, were things they simply could not live without.  Their lives would be worthless without whatever their particular 'need' was that week.
   
In trying to be a good parent, I many times made tough choices about wants versus needs.  Most of the time, my decisions were not met with gratitude and appreciation.  The tough choices were based on finances, safety and appropriateness. 
   
Some of the time we can tell the difference between need and
want but we don't always make the best choices.  There are always those things that we absolutely must have.  How many of those 'needs' become just one more thing in the closet that we rarely use or even think about?
    
In the same way, when we go to the Lord with our 'needs',
He doesn't always agree with our assessment of want versus need.  He doesn't always immediately provide what we ask for and He doesn't always tell us why.
    
Psalm 34:9,10 promises that we, His saints, will lack nothing.
We are His saints and His provision is beyond what we could possibly ever want.  Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto us. 

When we fasten our eyes firmly on the Lord and commit our lives to worship and serve Him, all those 'things' of the world that seemed so important tend to fade in comparison to the Creator of the universe.

Mark 10:51,52
​"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
  
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus down the road.

Read Mark 10:46-52 Matthew 20:29-34
Luke 18:35-43
 
While not listed in Hebrews 11, the chapter on heroes of the faith, I see this man as a hero. He stood against those who would hold him back. He did not bow to political correctness. He cried out right where he was to the One Who could solve his problem.  He saw in Jesus the way of redemption for both his spiritual and physical needs.  He persisted in crying out to the great Healer.
  
When Jesus ask a specific question, Bartimaeus answered specifically. He wanted to see. He wanted to cast off the cloak of blindness and take up a life of walking in the light.
  
Whether the cloak that we cast off is one of sin causing spiritual blindness or one of poor choices, like Bart, we need to cast it off, jump to our feet and come to Jesus.
  
He can heal our spiritual blindness, our emotional blindness that causes us to not see our sin and our tendency toward stubbornness when we refuse to see our sin.
  
After being healed, Bartimaeus set out to follow Jesus down the road of life. His spiritual growth began as a first step. His journey to salvation and serving the Lord began when he chose to repent and cast off his past.
  
When we choose to follow this man's example, we too can set out on a life time journey of following Jesus. We may not receive instant sight but we will always be able to see the One
Who can give us greater sight.

 Psalm 57:1-3 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in You, my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the
shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.  I cry out to God most high, to God, Who fulfills His purpose for me.
He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah  God sends His love and His faithfulness.

Read Psalm 57