Casting Away the Garment

 

Text: Mark 10:50 (KJV)

And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

Friends, when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was calling him, he did something significant in that he cast away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. The garment was connected to the life he had been living as a blind beggar. It represented the place where he had been sitting, the identity people knew him by, and perhaps the security he had become accustomed to. When Jesus called him, Bartimaeus was willing to leave it behind. Hence, casting away the garment does not mean forgetting your past. It means refusing to allow your past to control your future. That is a powerful picture of surrendering to Jesus. Philippians 3:13 says, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”

Amazingly, God calls us into a new season, but we are still holding on to the things connected to our old season. We want something new from God, but we are unwilling to release the old nature of bitterness and negative habits, or labels that keep us tied to where we used to be. Isaiah 43:18–19 says, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.” So, Bartimaeus understood that he could not remain where he was and respond fully to the call of Jesus. His garment had served a purpose in his former situation, but he did not allow it to become a permanent attachment. Yes, there are things that may have helped you survive one season that God may now be asking you to release so you can move forward. It is time to cast away the weight that will not allow you walk into your new. I encourage you to willingly stop allowing yesterday garment to define your today, in Jesus name.

Prayer Point:

Father, give me the grace to cast away every garment that is keeping me from moving forward with You. Help me release every limitation from my past as I respond to Your call in Jesus' name.

Action Quote: Friends, when Jesus calls you into a new season, don't carry the garment of your old season but cast it away, rise, and follow Him.