Daily Verse: Mark 5:26-29

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

 

The woman in this example had been suffering with an illness for 12 long years, had consulted many doctors, and yet found no relief. Talk about being in a pit of despair and hopelessness. Then she received word of this man named Jesus and the incredible healings that he had been performing across the land. So she worked her way into the large crowd that was surrounding this Man, and reached out to touch his cloak, hoping for healing with just this simple touch of a piece of his clothing. She didn’t ask him for healing, didn’t stop him in his footsteps, didn’t even come into his line of sight. Just touched his cloak and instantly, the disease that had been plaguing her for 12 years was gone. Imagine how overwhelmed this woman must have been as she witnessed a 12 year battle suddenly vanish.  Did the woman in this example reach out to touch Jesus because she was out of options or because she truly believed that he could heal her with just the simple touch of a piece of his clothing? We see in verse 34 that it was the latter as Jesus spoke to her saying “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” What if the woman had not touched the Lord’s cloak? What if she had figured it would do no good, especially since she had battled this disease for 12 years and nothing had worked so far? To say this woman was discouraged and beaten-down is probably a gross understatement. Yet her faith in the healing power of the Savior pushed her to seek the him. In our lives today, we don’t necessarily have the privilege of catching the Lord walking down the street and touching his clothing for healing. But we do have the privilege of prayer…a direct line, uninterrupted, no busy signal, no voicemail, straight connection to the Creator. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we have the privilege to hit our knees and pray deeply to the Lord for healing…and as miraculous as his healing was with this woman and has been for centuries since, his healing is still miraculous today. It may take 12 years like it did for this woman, but we can’t become discouraged in our prayer and we can’t doubt that God is willing or able to heal us. We have to know, firmly rooted in our faith in Him, that our God will provide. So whether we battle for a day or for years on end, may our faith remain unshakeable and our prayers persistent. To God be the glory!