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The Fog from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Beggars sat by the gates of the city with their hands out, heads down in shame, hopelessly believing "woe is me." That nothing could change for them, at least for the better. Such was their lot in life, the hand they had been given. They accepted and believed the lie that things couldn't change. That their future would only be more of the past. It cloaked them. 

The Lord Jesus Christ walked past many people with needs during His travels. He even said, "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always" (John 12:8 NKJV). Many of the people who could have been helped watched Jesus walk on by them, but a few became examples for us. 

(Mark 10:46–48 NKJV)  Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

People were telling him to stop, but old Blind Bart continued shouting. Someone yelled that if he didn't stop shouting, he was going to need some mercy, but he ignored them. They weren't the ones in need. Bart was. Most of those around him were OK with old Bart staying a blind beggar, but he wasn't. He'd had enough. He cried out to Jesus even louder. 

(Mark 10:49–52 NKJV)  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

"Your faith has made you well." What faith? Blind Bart believed in Jesus enough to take action. To risk embarrassment. To look like a fool. He took a risk and did something new. That is faith. James explained it like this:

(James 2:18 NKJV)  But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

In other words, James demonstrated his faith by the way he lived. His faith sometimes caused him to do things his carnal mind wouldn't understand. Like when Jesus said, "The poor you have with you always." Why? Because the rule of the Kingdom is "Give and it will be given to you," and the carnal mind will never understand that. The natural mind will tell you to keep it all for a rainy day, but God says to give Him the first 10% of all your increase or live under a curse.

(Malachi 3:8–11 NKJV)  "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts;

(Haggai 1:9 NKJV)  "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.

"God would never do that to me!" Bahumbug. "The poor you will have with you always" because most of them will never break the cycle of poverty by obeying the word of God. Oh, there will be a hundred excuses as to why, but God doesn't reward excuses. Faith is the currency of heaven. This was just one example, but it carries over into many other areas of our lives. 

Some people live in a depressing fog created by the enemy to subdue them and keep their faith in check. We wrap ourselves in self-pity like a cloak and believe that anyone trying to clear that precious fog away is our enemy. The fog itself becomes our friend. My precious...money, illness, poverty... Oh, we say the words as long as it doesn't require us to do anything differently or change. It defines us like "Blind Bart." Look at this woman's dilemma:

(Mark 5:25–29 NKJV)  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

She had spent all the money she had on doctors but had suffered with this problem for twelve years and only grew worse. Because she was bleeding, she was considered "unclean" and wasn't allowed to touch anyone else, or she would make them unclean as well. She shouldn't have even been in the crowd, but enough is enough! Jesus Christ was walking by on His way to Jairus' house, and she reached out and touched His robe. She was instantly healed but had technically just made Jesus unclean. He didn't seem to mind.

(Mark 5:30–34 NKJV)  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' " And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

"Your faith has made you well." What faith? She believed in Jesus Christ enough to do something her mind told her not to. Her faith overrode her intelligence. Faith sometimes makes no sense to our natural minds. 

(1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV)  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In my experience, faith baffles many highly educated people. The earthly wise are just too smart to believe in God. They can't comprehend Him. I can only laugh and rejoice in the Lord that He chose to reveal Himself to me, a no-one from nowhere. Which kind of makes sense because that is exactly what Jesus Christ did:

(Luke 10:21 NKJV)  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

When Peter and John healed the crippled man at the temple gate, the Pharisees were scratching their heads as to how this could have happened:

(Acts 4:13 NKJV)  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Praise God, ignorance can be bliss. The Apostle Paul wrote:

(1 Corinthians 1:26–27 NKJV)  For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

God is so awesome! No one compares with Him. Our faith is the currency of heaven, and it requires something from us. We need to see past the fog and believe that things can change for the better. To keep crying out to God even when others are telling us to give up as they did with Blind Bart, who can now see better than they can. When our minds are telling us that there is no point in praying about this anymore. The fog is not your friend but a cloaked enemy instead.

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for revealing Yourself to me. Please help me understand Your truth and apply it to my life. Help me see past the fog and make my path clear. I want to become who You have destined me to be. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!