Have you waited for something so long that you feel like there’s no hope?
Still longing to find true love? A child of your own? A better job? Financial freedom?
Or maybe you’re still waiting for that strained relationship with your loved one to be healed. The one you’ve been praying about for so long. The one that hurts your soul to the core when you think about what happened to bring such hurt.
Let me take us to a place in the Bible that I’m praying will bring some hope to your situation.
In Mark 5:25-34 we find a weary-worn-out woman. She too had been waiting for some help. Relief. Hope. Anything!
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 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.
For twelve years she desperately pleaded for someone to help her. Did you catch that? Twelve years! She trudged down this path for the long haul. Certainly not the quick fix we are so characterized by in our culture today.
We’re told she spent all she had on doctors. All she had. Every penny she owned was desperately given in the hope that someone would find a cure for her non-stop bleeding.
Although her situation was physical, I think we can still relate to her level of desperation in whatever our circumstances are.
Do you feel you’ve given all you have? Whether it be financial, mental, emotional or spiritual…you understand that place.
We’ve sought out professional help and spent a fortune.
We’ve exhausted all our resources.
I’ve done all I can do and there is still no change.
Did you notice the last part of the verse? It says instead of her situation getting better, it got worse.
Can you relate to that, dear friend?
I certainly can.
There were seasons of my life when I felt like I was doing everything I possibly could to improve a hopeless situation. Yet, instead of getting better…it got worse.
So hang on with me here because this is not where the woman’s story ends!
I’m painting a vivid picture here so we fully understand just where this woman truly is.
She is utterly desperate. At her wits end. She has no other options. No money left to spend. No more mental or emotional strength to exert.
She has no other place to go for help.
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 news about Jesus must have finally reached her! Always surrounded by a crowd of people, Jesus was often very hard to approach. The people would flock to him and once it was known he was in a certain location, it became quite chaotic.
The scripture says, she came. Don’t miss this. She heard about Jesus, but she didn’t just sit around and wait for someone else to tag along with. She acted with boldness and confidence.
I can just picture this. She’s not just waiting for Jesus and his disciples to come toward her, hoping they will end up somewhere near her. She sees Him. She pushes her way through the large crowd. She’s determined to get to Him.
Nothing is going to stop her.
The most powerful part of her story, in my opinion, is what she was thinking. She says, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
Her desperation drove her to surrender. Her surrender ignited her FAITH. And her faith is what healed her.
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.
Not all physical suffering has this kind of ending. But the powerful truths from this woman’s story can bring HOPE and FREEDOM to any hopeless circumstances.
*She didn’t give up. (Not even after twelve years!)
*She intentionally made a move toward Jesus.
*She didn’t let the crowd stop her.
*She surrendered completely and truthfully to Jesus.
Jesus confirms her faith. It wasn’t touching his clothes. It wasn’t anything she did.
It was her FAITH.
Oh how I long to be like this woman! Her determination. Her perseverance. Her faith.
Dear friend, I don’t know the details of your journey. I don’t know how long you’ve been waiting for some type of healing. I don’t know how God will answer your prayers. But I do know this:
When we desperately surrender our longings to Jesus, we can walk in peace and freedom through any situation.
Blessings to you!
Lisa
Lisa Preuett~Rest Stop for the Soul 