When we choose fear over faith, it makes us skeptical—we’re afraid of trying anything new when we’re afraid. It makes us selfish—we’re afraid to commit to God and to others. It makes us short-sighted—we focus on the past and not on the future.

Bartimaeus faced a fear that is familiar to many of us: the fear of rejection. He knew that to shout out at Jesus in that crowd wasn’t the right thing to do. He knew that people would look down on him for it, but he was desperate. And he knew that Jesus Christ was the only one who could help him.

And look what happened: When he shouted out to Jesus, everyone around him told him, “Don’t do that. Be quiet. Don’t make a scene. Surely Jesus Christ isn’t interested in you. He has more important things to do.”

The devil whispers things like that to a lot of us. When that opportunity for faith comes into our heart, thoughts like, “God surely wouldn’t be interested in you” or “Don’t make a scene” or “What would people think of you?” keep us from having faith. When you see an opportunity to change, there are all kinds of shouts from inside and around you that tell you not to rock the boat.

But God is asking you to do something greater than you’ve ever done before: He’s asking you to depend on him completely. Don’t you think that’s going to feel a little bit scary? Of course it is. And when God asks something of you, you have a choice. Are you going to fall back on your fear and stay the way that you are? Or are you going to tame your fear and step forward in faith?