Monday mornings have a way of showing us where we’re still blurry. The week starts, the inbox opens, and the same old impatience, the same worry, the same habit we prayed about last month is right there waiting. It’s easy to wonder whether anything has actually changed.
There’s a small story in Mark that I think was written for mornings like this.
“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town.” (Mark 8:22–23, KJV)
Before anything else happens, Jesus takes the man’s hand. A blind man in a crowd is at everyone’s mercy: jostled, talked about, steered. Jesus doesn’t heal him as a public show. He walks him out of town, step by step, his hand in the man’s hand. Whatever comes next, it starts with being led.
“I see men as trees”
“And when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.” (Mark 8:23–24, KJV)
This is the only healing in the Gospels that happens in stages. Jesus touches him, and the man can see, sort of. Shapes. Movement. People that look like trees walking around.
I love that Jesus asks. “Do you see anything?” He isn’t checking whether His power worked. He’s inviting the man to be honest about where he actually is. And the man is honest: Something has changed, but it’s not clear yet.
That’s a holy answer. Many of us live in exactly that place. We’ve met Jesus. Something really did open up. But the picture is still fuzzy: we still lose our temper, still worry at 3 a.m., still see other people more like obstacles than neighbours. We’re tempted to hide that, as if admitting “I only see trees” would disappoint Him.
He already knows. He asked so the man could say it out loud.
The second touch
“After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” (Mark 8:25, KJV)
He put his hands again. There’s no sigh in that sentence, no lecture about trying harder, no suggestion that the man should have had more faith the first time. Jesus simply touches him again, and keeps going until the man sees every man clearly.
Jesus doesn’t stop halfway. If He has started something in you, He means to finish it. The Psalmist put it this way:
“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” (Psalm 138:8, KJV)
You are the work of His hands. He isn’t going to set you down blurry and walk away.
For this Monday
Maybe you can name the place where you’re still seeing “trees.” A relationship you can’t quite read. A fear that keeps its shape no matter how much you pray. A part of your faith that feels half-awake.
Here’s a simple way to start the week with this story:
- Let Him take your hand. Before the day takes you, give Him the first few minutes. You don’t have to understand where He’s leading; the blind man didn’t either.
- Answer honestly. When He asks, “What do you see?”, tell Him the truth. “Lord, it’s still blurry here.” That isn’t failure. It’s prayer.
- Expect a second touch. And a third, if you need it. Healing that comes slowly is still healing. Growth that takes a while is still His work.
Notice too where the story ends: Jesus “made him look up.” The first thing the man saw clearly was Jesus’ face. Whatever else gets sharper this week, may that be first.
Lord Jesus, I’m not seeing everything clearly yet. Take my hand this morning and lead me. Show me what I need to see, and touch me again where I’m still blurry. I trust You to finish what You started. Amen.