Living in Bethsaida

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.  When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes.  Then his eyes were opened, his sight restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.” 

MARK 8:22-26  (NIV)


As you begin to think about your own "story", here's a beautiful story illustrating where so many of us are at in life, what our “normal” thinking might look like, what we expect in our future, what can happen when we meet Jesus, and what kind of new life does Jesus have for us!  And the very first step?  A simple willingness to let Jesus himself show you where you are really at in your life.  As He does this, He will be gentle, encouraging and astound you with pinpoint accuracy!  Your fears will gradually dissipate!
 
Remember, our goal in this journey to Comfort is to help you have a clear understanding of how negative experiences and messages fashion a destructive internal belief system.  Such a system of beliefs will control a person’s responses to life, their perceptions of themselves, others and God.   Rather than take a walk with Jesus, we will remain steadfast in our current situation!
 
What was life like for a blind man living in Bethsaida?  Well, his experience of everyday life in Bethsaida wouldn’t be much different from our own experience of everyday life!  Regardless of all the changes and advances in the last 2,000 years, the basic core human needs and struggles of humanity are the same today as they were then. We cry out as humans to have positive and loving responses to the following questions:

• Am I safe?
• Who do I trust?
• Am I loved?
• Am I of worth and even deserve to be loved?
• Am I capable of asking for, receiving and giving love? 
• Where do I belong and who do I belong to? 
• Am I significant or insignificant?

 
Here are some ideas about this story to understand its importance for us:

• This man was blind and a beggar; he had trauma from early life and knew only daily darkness.  His very existence was perceived as unsafe.

 

• He lived in a town, Bethsaida, which Jesus Himself described as hard of heart and unrepentant.  His idea of “normal” was sadness and hopelessness.

 

• He had to decide whether or not to take a walk to a new, out of the way place, perhaps a place he had never been to before!  And with someone he had never been with before.  He was way out of his comfort zone. 

 

• He had so much baggage that his healing took a while.  It happened in stages rather than immediately.  There was much work to do.  Like us.

 

• He had to change his daily life, and even relocate himself to a new town.  Much like the changes we are invited to make as well!

 
The basic core needs of safety, worth, effectiveness and belonging are the stabilizing human core beliefs leading to abundant life and the experience of well-being.  The blind man probably had none of these core beliefs.  
 
As a child develops and as life is lived, there are so many circumstances and interactions that either build or diminish the experience of well-being.  For example, from the time the blind man was born, the belief that his blindness was due to sin (a familiar teaching in those days) created an atmosphere around him rooted in shame, mistrust and fear.  We also can build up an entire set of negative filters through which we see our life, affecting our today and our assumption about tomorrow as well!


The following is a review of this story from the point of view of "CHANGE".
 
Regarding change, change is always a step by step process.  The first stage of change is a person not even realizing that change is necessary.  The blind man in this story didn’t ask for healing; his friends did.  He could have perhaps kept on going in his life as he had been; no change hoped for or accomplished.
 
The second stage of change is when a person becomes aware, admits and understands that they indeed need to redirect their life, that a change is needed.  The blind man agreed to go on a walk with Jesus; he finally knew something should be done and his life turned around.  Imagine as Jesus walked and talked with him, how choices would have become clear.  He would be able with his spirit to now “see” a new possibility for tomorrow and a reason for hope.
 
Next, he allows Jesus to (of all things) spit on his eyes!  He was at the important phase of change, which showed him accepting whenever and however Jesus the Healer would decide to work with him.  He was building up his trust in this man Jesus as healer but also as friend.
 
Next, after receiving his sight, Jesus knew what type of TOTAL healing was necessary.  He knew that if the blind man went back into town, he just might fall into some very harmful habits and patterns.  So Jesus said bluntly: “Don’t go back to your old life!  Leave that village where you were at for so long, and enter a brand new part of your life so you might live free and productively”.  This was the next last stage of healing: accepting and maintaining new thought patterns and beliefs!

Finally, all these new changes and choices are embraced as a new way of everyday living.



At the end of various readings in Comfort.Guide, we will have a "Pause", "Reflect" and "Receive" section.  The purpose of this exercise is to help you better understand and to personally absorb the encouragement Comfort.Guide offers.  If you would like, visit the "HOW TO USE" page for a review of "Pause, Reflect and Receive".

 
PAUSE ...  WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS? 
 
As you PAUSE to consider the following questions, remember this is not a work to perform, but a time to listen to your heart.  The questions are designed to help you begin to ask yourself questions about your everyday life, the inside and the outside.  For example, in your everyday life do you feel you are valued and worthy of love?  Do you have a sense of a safe place you call home?  Who do you belong to, and who belongs to you?  And finally, are you aware of your giftedness, purpose and effectiveness, especially in giving and receiving love?  You will want to find out how rooted you are in your own personal Bethsaida, and whether “moving out of town” has entered your mind! 
 
 
REFLECT ...  Some questions to help you…
 
Why did “some people” bring a blind man to Jesus; why didn’t the blind man himself ask for healing?  What might his sense of self-worth have been?  How often have you wished for healing?  Can you relate to the feelings this blind man may have been feeling in his everyday life?
 
Why does it say that the blind man’s friends asked for the “touch” of Jesus, and not specifically for sight?  How often do we ask for a “quick” cure, or easy growth, or settle for coping rather than seeking a complete change in our lives?  What wounds and reactions, beyond being blind, do you think the blind man’s friends may have been about?
 
What was the blind man’s everyday life like in such a village?  How was his level of hope as opposed to hopelessness?  Was he stuck in a pattern of negative thinking, no expectations that tomorrow would be better than today, and quiet desperation in everyday living?  What group, if any, did he belong to?  What did the word “safe” mean to him?  How about you …. Feeling pressed down, pessimistic, no change in sight or mind, simply can’t go on like you have been living?  Where is your safe place?
 
Had the blind man been much of a traveler, do you think?  Or was his physical, mental and emotional world narrowly defined, and narrowly confined?  How about you, do you feel trapped with no escape into something better?  What was his vision for his future?  Your vision?
 
What are your gifts?  How about your purpose in life?  Are you making any difference at home, at work, among friends?  Are you able to receive love freely, and to give love freely?
 
How has your loss blocked seeing clearly God’s personal love for you?

And most important, why did Jesus give him so much personal, one-on-one time???  The blind man seemed to be a no-body, so what drove Jesus to give this man a miracle?  In addition to the physical healing, what other kind of healing did Jesus want to give him?
 
 
RECEIVE … You will want to find out how rooted you are in your own personal Bethsaida, and whether “moving out of town” has entered your mind!   Ready to pack and have a new home?


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