The Blind Pillow Fighter

Have you ever felt battered by life (not as in cooking batter) from all sides and had no idea where the blows were coming from? Feeling harried unable to find a target to strike back?

I remember when we were teens my brother and I took a couple of weeks, one summer, and spent them with our uncle and his family. They lived on a farm in southern Oregon and we loved spending time with them. Uncle Bill and Aunt Marilyn were fun people and of course, our cousins were too. There was always some type of adventure when we got together. Trust me the truths and details of these shall always remain our secrets.

This particular time we all decided we needed to have a party and invite as many people as possible to it. We carefully planned what to eat, even to the ingredients of the concoctions that we had decided to serve. We planned each game (more like prank), carefully choosing each of the victims, I mean participants. One of the “games” that we picked was a pillow fight; well that is what we called it. We took the two victims and tied a blind fold on them. We then tied a rope around their waist explaining this was to keep them from wondering off and getting hurt. We tied one end of each rope to a pole and we brought the victims together so they knew they could reach each other. We then led them back to their corners, (i.e.) pole, to start the fight. While they were at the pole, we shortened their ropes so they were now unable to reach each other. When the bell rang they eagerly headed to the middle of the area and began swinging their pillows as hard as they could, of course they were unable to hit the other victim because they could not reach them. Now, what made this so interesting and added to the comedy of the situation was a third person also had a pillow but no rope and no blindfold. This person would go back and forth between the victims and willfully hit them with the pillow while the crowd cheered the victims on. The victims would swing wildly and as hard as they could to no avail. They wanderer all over the area their ropes would allow them to reach, again without success. Soon you would recognize puzzlement and then frustration of the victims, as they were unable to hit back while being hit.

It was so funny to those of us watching but was actually a bit mean to the victims. Soon they either became very angry (we did not expect this in all honesty) or they became so frustrated they would just stop and stand there. They gave up trying at all.

Just recently, I came across a passage of scripture that has just been eating away at my heart. In Matthew 9:35-36 Jesus is ministering to the people. He is teaching them and preaching to them. He is healing them of every sickness and every disease. Suddenly He looks at the multitude and it is as if He sees them for the very first time. The words, which are, actually used say, “But when He saw the multitudes…” something takes place in the heart of Jesus at that moment. It goes on to say, “…he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” It was as if the real problem of the multitudes was not the sicknesses or diseases He was healing, but really something else.

The word that I noticed, which did not really seem to fit with the rest of the description of what Jesus saw, was the word “fainted.” As I thought about this, in my minds eye I saw people just falling out on the ground everywhere, unconscious. I saw medical people and friends running to them trying to get them to respond! On street corners, they sold smelling salts at a premium price! This just did not seem to fit the scenario so I decided I had better look up the word. Much to my surprise, the word “fainted” used here means to “flay or to harass!” It also means to skin, to mangle or to vex, trouble or annoy.

Upon, please stay with me a moment and I will try my best not to bore you, further investigation I found the word was used by the Greeks to talk of being so troubled it was as if they were being flayed alive! They were troubled on every hand.

Therefore, when Jesus looked at the multitude He saw people who were so troubled with life they were harassed. Some even felted their troubles were so great they were being flayed alive. In my minds eye I now saw the blindfolded pillow fighter never knowing where or how to respond. He is feeling helpless and hopeless receiving blow after blow!

Have you had life come at you from all directions and realized you had no idea how to respond to it? You had no idea which way to turn or what to do. Coming to the place where you finally just stood there taking blow after blow with no response! I am not talking about good things happening to you in this manner, I am talking about the pains, fear, disappointments of life. I am talking about experiencing feelings of depression and despair!

Jesus went on to think of these people being like sheep without a shepherd. They were fearful and confused! Not knowing where safety lay! They did not know which way to turn or to whom they should turn. Troubled and ready to just stand there and take whatever came their way.
As this dismal picture unfolded before me, I was encouraged to realize that when Jesus saw these people in this condition He had compassion on them. Their needs touched Him. He yearned for them from the depth of His emotions. He felt sympathy and pity for them. To sympathize with a person is to share the feelings of someone else. To say I can understand how you are feeling I have felt the same thing.

When Jesus saw the multitude and saw that, they fainted and were as sheep without a shepherd He sympathized with them. He said I understand how that they feel I have been where they are. From His deepest emotions, He yearned for them. He wanted to help them so much and yet realized the difficulty that would be involved in meeting that need.

When life comes at us, as it does the Blind Pillow-fighter, and bombards us from all sides we need to know there is hope. When life seems hopeless, it only seems that way if we try to handle it ourselves there is hope. When our hearts have been broken, there is hope of healing. When the disappointments and frustrations of life hold us captive in chains of hopelessness, there is hope of deliverance. When we are blind by the failures of the past and the dismal picture of our future, there is hope we will see the beautiful promise that lies before us. When we have suffered at the brutal hand of life, bruised and broken, there is hope of liberty and healing! It is only in Jesus Christ who yearns with sympathy to make all the difference in our lives. In Him is our hope.
Luke 4:18 tells us that Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, to set the captive free, to open the blind eyes, to set at liberty them that are bruised. Luke also told us that Jesus came to seek and to save those that are lost. He came to save the sheep looking for a shepherd. He came to seek the lost sheep who are wandering without direction. He came to lead us to safety!

Do not lose heart! Do not give up! Jesus can and will make the difference in your life. You no longer have to face life as the Blind Pillow-fighter, not knowing which way to turn, feeling flayed alive by life. You can know that Jesus knows your pain and is willing to make the difference…He is moved with compassion for you!

It is Just a thought! God Bless…