Drop ItSample

Screenwriters talk about an “inciting incident,” an event that radically upsets the balance of forces in the protagonist's life. It is an event that provokes a desire in the protagonist that he must satisfy, or forces the character to take action in pursuit of a goal. Sometimes an inciting incident can be negative, like a job loss or a serious illness, but other times it can be positive, like winning the lottery or getting a promotion. Without an inciting incident, the character will not change, move forward, or take action in pursuit of a goal, because there is nothing to provoke them.

Bartimaeus needed an inciting incident to provoke him to action, and all it took was Jesus. The balance of his life had been steady — put on his cloak, beg outside the temple, go home — every single day. But this day was different — when he heard that Jesus had called him, he knew it was his chance.

Our cloak is a symbol for the balance of our lives, and sometimes we need an inciting incident to cause us to throw off our cloak, to get us off balance. We don't get to choose our inciting incidents; they choose us. Really, it's the providence of God at work. Whether the inciting incidents are positive or negative in nature, the intent is that we throw aside that which protects us and leap to our feet, abandoning balance to respond to the call of Jesus. When we throw down our cloak in pursuit of what God has for us, we are positively advancing in the faith.

Remember, only God can provide the protection, identity, and comfort that we crave.

Dropping our cloak of comfort means standing out and exposing ourselves. It creates a vulnerability that previously we would have found impossible and gets us one step closer to true contentment, a destination that is guarded by our own pride as much as it's destroyed by our own humility. If we can drop the cloak of comfort, God can provide beyond our wildest dreams. If we don’t drop our coat and get out of our comfort zone, we will never be in a position to experience God’s amazing opportunity for our amazing breakthrough.