Step two. "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." One word sometimes used to summarize this step is the word hope.

We are going to look at today's texts as they relate to believing God restores us as we turn our lives over to that Power greater than ourselves. In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah sings a song of deliverance. The words might sound like a call for personal deliverance, but it is really a song for the deliverance of the nation and a call for a reunited world.

The nation of Israel had suffered terrible disasters at the hands of the Assyrian army, suffering that Israel understood to be the judgment of God. This is a God whose anger is justified. There is, nevertheless, a future in which there is still hope.

That is because God's anger is a loving anger rather than a vengeful anger. God punishes as a loving, not vengeful, parent. This is a God who still refreshes those who come to the well to drink. It was the time of trouble that led God's people to the willingness to stop drinking from their own well and seek to drink from God's. It was a disaster - in this case a national disaster - that convinced them they could no longer depend long on their own power but had to depend on that power of God's which is so much higher.

They were pushed to rely on God because their national life was unmanageable. That seems to be what it takes for humankind to turn things over to God. The more confident we become of our own power, the less inclined we are to remember and give thanks to God.

Consider the contrast between Narcissus, the Greek and Roman mythical character, and Isaiah, the prophet of God. Narcissus saw himself in a pond. He was so infatuated with his reflection that he desired to grasp it and hold on to it. The only way for him to do this was to open his arms and reach for the reflection in the water. In doing so, he fell into the pond and was drowned. So wrapped up with himself, he lost himself.

By contrast, Isaiah envisions a well of life as a well of God's saving favor. Instead of plunging himself into his own reflection, he draws up the water he had received from God's bounty. He had forgotten himself, thrown himself upon the grace of God, and enjoyed the water of salvation.

He said that "The Lord is my strength and my song ... "I want to do a little celebration here in music as a way of getting us in touch with that higher power.

Music was a major factor in redeeming the church during the Reformation. Martin Luther wrote that the study of music was second only to the study of theology. And when Geneva was besieged and every man was required to stand his turn at guard duty, John Calvin excused only one person from such duty. His name was Louis Bourgeois, the teacher of music to the children, who composed "Old Hundredth," our doxology tune. A Methodist bishop once said more people had been "sung" into his church than came in any other way.

A national disaster and an understanding that the nation would only be redeemed if it drew its strength from a judging, loving and forgiving God was what led Isaiah to faith. By contrast, the gospel story tells of an individual whose personal troubles led him to faith.

The scene is set in Jericho, about 15 miles from Jerusa1cm. It was just before holy week, as Jesus and the disciples were traveling to Jerusalem.

Here we meet Bartimaeus. It is possible that this is a man who was without health or wealth or social position. He did not even have a name. Bartimaeus means, "son of Timaeus." He was simply identified by who his father was. In those days parents did not name a child unless they wanted to keep the child and assume responsibility for the child's care.

A child who was born with a handicap was often left unnamed and, thereby, unclaimed. Since the only name given us for this blind man means "son of Timaeus," it is possible that no one - not even his parents - had cared about him.

Blindness was common in Palestine. There were no social agencies to help. The blind had to beg or die. The blind and lame often posted themselves at the city gateway, especially at Passover season.

It was then the custom that a distinguished rabbi on a journey was surrounded by a crowd of disciples and other learners who listened to him while he walked. That was a common way of teaching.

As Jesus and the crowd passed by him, it is likely that the beggar got pushed to the side, thus increasing his sense of alienation. When Bartimaeus spoke up crying for help, the people's reaction was like parents when the kids yell while you are trying to watch the news. "Shut up. I am trying to hear this."

But when Bartimaeus was ready to turn his life over to this man, no one was going to stop him. Bartimaeus had one chance. Jesus would pass his way only once. He threw off his cloak to be able to move more quickly.

Last Saturday when our five-year-old son Charlie fell and cut his face badly, I was on a ladder at the highest part of our house and Elise was inside doing housework, dressed in a nightshirt. We both heard the scream and saw a face covered with blood. When you hear your child scream and you see the blood, you do not say, "Let me finish pounding in this nail," or "Let me get on some makeup and a dress." You drop everything. You run. There is nothing more important.

When you know there is a life crisis, you do not say, "One more drink, and I'll get this thing under control." "One last fling, then I'll be faithful." or "Let me just walk over one more person, and I'll be where I want to be in this company and I'll stop treating people this way." The longer we accept our excuses, the harder it becomes, because we have neutralized the sense of crisis.

That blind man did not call on God; he called on Jesus, the son of David. That is the title of one who would come as conquering Messiah, who would return Israel to her national greatness. It does not mean that Bartimaeus knew anything about Jesus' personal ancestry. It was simply one of the names which was natural to refer to the person who was destined to restore the fortunes of Israel.

The followers who were going with Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover may have created the air of expectancy that suggested this title to Bartimaeus. There is the prophecy in Isaiah 61, one well-known among the Hebrew people, which talked about the coming Messiah and promised he would bring "recovery of sight to the blind."

To call Jesus "son of David" is not an adequate understanding of him. There is no evidence that Bartimaeus understood that it was the Son of God on whom he called. It was not necessary for him to have exactly the correct christological title.

What Jesus accepted was not the title, but the faith to turn his life over. What made him well was trusting in a power to heal him that was higher than his own power. In that one instant he turned his life over to the higher power of Christ, and his life was forever changed. This is the way it works.

Why did the disciples act with such hesitation? By this time in Jesus' ministry, the disciples had been with him for two or three years. They had heard his teachings. They had seen his healings. You would think they would be the ones to take the risk. They should have been the ones who would run up to the blind man and shout, "Your savior is here."

They edged in and out of faith. Those close to the action were not close to understanding. They were trying to conform Jesus to their expectations instead of letting Christ transform them. They were slow in handing themselves over.

A faith commitment is not like deciding what color to paint the family room. You can bring home some color charts and see how it matches the carpets and the couch. You might take a halfway measure and just buy a small can of paint. Paint a section behind the couch. If you don't like it, just move the couch in front of it until you get the color you like. And even if you paint the whole room a color you do not like, you can paint it over.

Turning your life over to a higher power is not like turning your car from regular gas to premium - it costs more, but maybe it will run a little smoother. Sometimes folks try to do that with their faith. We'll try God out a little here for a while, then a little there, then a little somewhere else. When we think our faith is costing too much time and money and freedom, we can treat it like a car that costs too much to run. We trade it in for an economy model faith.

The beggar's life did not just run a little more smoothly. It was transformed. There has to come a leap of faith. There has to come a time when, like the beggar, you truly cannot see a thing, when the best you can manage is the sound of people passing and their voices.

One person who comes to mind is Millard Fuller. Millard Fuller was a graduate of Georgia Tech who made himself very rich very quickly. But he was unsatisfied with his life. Something was missing, but, unlike the blind man, he could not name it specifically. Then he came under the influence of a preacher by the name of Larry Durgin who helped Millard and his wife sort out what his faith was leading him toward.

Fuller, along with his wife, decided to take a huge leap of faith. They gave away all the money they had and started Habitat for Humanity. He gave everything away and now often has former President Jimmy Carter working with Habitat for Humanity.

When life is in crisis, it is important to understand the crisis from the perspective of faith. Crises come to everyone. We think our job is to manage the crisis. "I am unsatisfied with my job. I do not want to do it any more. I will quit and find the job I can manage."

We call on every reserve of strength we have. And sometimes we pull ourselves up by the boot straps out of the trouble, until trouble comes again. A crisis is a gift from God that gives us opportunity to turn whatever is messing up our life over to God.

Bartimaeus had a lifelong crisis. The common wisdom then was you deal with it by begging. But the passing of Christ near his life gave Bartimaeus a chance to make a new choice. He then took a leap of faith, turning to Christ. His response after his life was changed and he was healed, was gratitude. And out of his gratitude came his loyalty in following Jesus.

In the church we ask for people's loyalty, and sometimes the loyalty is hesitant or partial or passing. What is needed first is to take the leap of faith, to let a power greater than ourselves work in us. Then comes the giving out of gratitude.

This story helps me see how specifically we can ask God for help. Maybe there is a neighbor you hate. That hate is making your life unmanageable, and you just cannot do anything about the hatred. Maybe there is a particular thing you want to stop and cannot. Maybe when you get behind the wheel you drive to endanger yourself, your family, and anyone else on the road.

Bartimaeus did not ask Jesus for a general overhaul. He asked to have his eyes healed. We can turn over to God the specific things that trouble us, like hatred for a neighbor or the way we drive. In turning that one thing over to God, everything in his life changed.

The first step has to come first, the step of being honest, of admitting where and how our lives have become unmanageable. Isaiah said this was true for the nation. Bartimaeus said it was true for his life. Now we hear Paul, the great missionary in the history of the church, the author of much of the New Testament, who had a "thorn in the flesh," a debilitating weakness, that made his life unmanageable. If anyone earned God's favor, it was Paul.

He prayed to God to remove it. Nothing doing. So he accepted the power to be able to live with it. "God's power," he assures us, "is made perfect in weakness."

It is only when the clay is made weak, when it is wet, that a sculptor can form it. So it is with our lives. When we are weak, when we are open to God, when we are coachable, when we are teachable, then that power higher than our own can reshape our lives.

What we know is that God's power and grace are revealed through many means. Isaiah saw God's power through the menial task of drawing water. It evoked for him an understanding of the sacramental nature of water. God's power was revealed when a blind man experienced a medical cure. God's power was revealed for Paul when his ailment was not cured, but he was given strength to accept his ailment.

It is a step that believes there is reason for hope. When nations find themselves oppressed, as they did when Isaiah spoke, the inclination is to call on the military to solve the problem. When folks are disabled like Bartimaeus, the inclination is to call for people's pity. When folks have a chronic ailment as did Paul, the inclination is to yield to despair.

It takes courage to "accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." That leap of faith is what brings sanity and wholeness.