As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man sat by the road, begging.
He heard the crowd going by and asked what it meant.
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.
He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
— Luke 18:35–38
When Jesus stopped and asked the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41), it was an invitation.
An invitation to hope.
An invitation to see.
An invitation to look up.
This question from Jesus lands like a thunderclap in our own stories:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
And yet, how many of us have been ignoring the question?
Yes, we likely faithfully ask for the healing of a neighbor or friend and the like. But do we keep our heads down and plow forward in our circumstances, forgetting that the Healer of the blind can give us sight?
The spiritual sight we need?
Maybe it’s spiritual sight to see that you are loved more than you can possibly know.
Or maybe it’s the spiritual sight to see that not only have your sins been put on Christ, but His righteousness has been given to you.
Or maybe it’s remembering the complete armor of God so you might be an agent of light in this dark world.
Living Below the Clouds
In his book Restore, Robert Cheong describes how we often live "below the clouds," where the fog of fear, disappointment, and pain obstructs our view of the sun. He writes:
“Our default way to view our stories is to see only below the clouds... Evil deceives us so that we feel like God is distant, and it tempts us to doubt his love.”
Below the clouds, we assume that our stories are defined by what we can see, fix, or feel. We forget the truest reality—that our lives are already hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), that the story of grace is breaking through even when we cannot yet see the light.
Below the clouds, we forget to remember.
We forget to ask.
We forget to cry out.
We forget to imagine that God might already be doing something more.
Seeing Jesus Above the Clouds
The blind man in Luke 18 had never seen Jesus, but he saw Him better than many who had. He called out in faith to the Son of David—the Messianic King—and refused to be silenced.
That moment wasn’t just about physical healing. It was about recognizing who Jesus really is.
And when Jesus asked him what he wanted, the man didn’t hesitate. He said, “Lord, I want to see.”
And Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
Immediately, he could see. And he followed Jesus, glorifying God.
Storywork: Asking, Looking, Naming
Storywork helps us honor and answer Jesus' question by making space to name what we’ve stopped going to Him and asking for.
It invites us to look back and see where we’ve only lived below the clouds.
It reminds us that through union with Christ, we now have eyes to see the greater reality—God’s story of redemption wrapped around our brokenness. We must remember.
Jesus is not only the Healer, but the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is not far off and He is asking:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Don’t let the clouds convince you He’s not listening.
Don’t let your past pain convince you that He doesn't care for you.
Don’t let your disappointment keep your prayers small.
Instead, look up and remember.
Let the Cross Lift Your Gaze
As Cheong reminds us:
“The cross of Jesus, applied to you by the Holy Spirit, forever connects your story to God’s bigger and brighter story. God now invites you to look up at Jesus and see through the clouds.”
When we look at our circumstances from below the clouds, we tend to only see from a limited, darkened perspective.
But when we look through the lens of the cross, we see abundance and the light of Christ. Through Union with Christ, we already have the light of the world dwelling within us (John 8:12). We are not orphans—we are God's dearly loved and adopted children.
The Result of Engaging with God and Remembering
Jesus could've healed the blind man without ever being asked. Through relationship, the asking and answering, Jesus is glorified as God. The result was that the man's sight was recovered, he glorified God, and people gave praise to God.
Today’s Storywork Journaling Prompt
Spend some time prayerfully answering this if you’d like to go deeper:
What do I want Jesus to do for me?
Where have I been living below the clouds?
What might change if I remembered Jesus as my reference point, not my circumstances?
Are there matters or needs that I haven’t talked with the Lord about yet or lately?
Is there a part of my story that might influence how readily I run to Him?
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2
I'd love to hear how this journaling went for you!
Lamenting goes well with journaling. By signing up for the Curators of Grace newsletter, you will receive freebies, including the CHRIST acronym for remembering how to lament for spiritual growth. Click below for the link:
I want my free lament acronym guideLinking up this week with:
