Daily Devotional

In the age of streaming EVERYTHING, most of our music is now listened to on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora. With that, we have lost the ancient art of making mixed tapes. Today, while we do have playlists that have seemingly replaced the making of mixed tapes, it’s still not quite the same. One of the reasons is because what was also popular in the 80s through the early 2000s was someone gifting another person with a mixed tape created just for them. Yet, when was the last time someone made a playlist with you in mind?

But what if we went back to that for just a moment? Imagine a friend created a playlist for you. They took the time to make something they thought you would enjoy and vibe with. However, with so much other noise going on in your life, you feel too overwhelmed to find time to listen to it. As you were trying to manage everything, spending time listening to that playlist became something you let fall off. With so much happening around us, how can we focus and prioritize listening to the things we should be listening to? Well, as with everything, Christ is a wonderful example.

Jesus had a lot going on. He was surrounded by lots of people and therefore lots of noise. In the passage above, He passes blind Bartimaeus and as He does Bartimaeus cries out. The crowd tries to rebuke Bartimaeus and get him to stop talking but Jesus listens. And even though Jesus had so much going on, He stopped and asked Bartimaeus what he wanted Him to do. He asked him about his needs, helped him, and showed us why it's important to listen well. We must take time to press pause on life to listen to the way God is guiding us to serve those around us because Jesus shows us listening is worth repeating.

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."