Scripture:

“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, ‘If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.’ Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

 

Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my robe?’

 

His disciples said to him, ‘Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’’

 

But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over’.” Mark 5:25-34 (NLT)

 

Perspective:

Jesus was walking with Jarius to visit his sick daughter as the crowds of people pressed in around him. Everyone just wanted to be close to Jesus. They wanted to see what He would do next and the miracles they would witness. As the crowds were moving down the road, there was a woman who knew this was her chance. She didn’t need an audience with Jesus or even need to be noticed. Stepping into the crowd of people would have been significant, because her illness would have made her unclean. She shouldn’t have touched anyone. Yet, when she heard about Jesus, she had new hope that had long been forgotten. She knew that she just needed to touch one finger to His robe, and she believed she would be healed. As she pressed into the crowd, she got close enough, reached out her hand, and touched Jesus. In that moment, she knew that Jesus had healed her. As she stood there in awe, the crowds would have been pressing forward only to overlook this divine moment. Yet, Jesus didn’t miss anything. He stopped everyone to identify the person who had touched him. While the disciples thought the request to find who touched Jesus was ridiculous, it shows that there were different experiences by people who touched him. Some people were probably rubbing shoulders with Jesus but never experienced any transformation in their lives. This woman believed and activated that belief through reaching out to Jesus. Instead of letting the woman just experience the healing, Jesus wanted to have an encounter with her to affirm her healing. Because this woman had the courage to touch Jesus, she experienced what very few people in the crowds would ever know.

 

In this woman’s life, her faith in Jesus’ power opened the door for her to experience something supernatural. In our lives, our ability to believe Jesus impacts how we experience Jesus working in our lives. Sometimes we can read the experiences of people in the Bible, and it can seem disconnected from our experiences. Yet, Jesus’ power is the same yesterday as it is today. What Jesus did for this woman, he can do for you. He can heal, restore, redeem, and forgive. As this story attests, there is a difference in being near to Jesus and reaching out and touching Him. Not everyone’s experience is the same. Although many want to be near Jesus so they can benefit from Him working around them, fewer people will rise up with faith in their heart and do whatever it takes to touch the heart of God through prayer. We need to have the faith to believe Him for the answer we are requesting. If you need healing in your body today, He is able to heal. If you need restoration in your family, He is able to restore. If you need provision in your life, He is able to provide. Whatever you need today, you only need to reach out with faith in your heart, touch Jesus, and watch what He will do. 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

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About Hona Amer

I help people live life to the fullest. Check out my book, Smart Work U. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. In order to receive updates, subscribe below.

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