A TOUCH OF FAITH

DAY 211
FAITH FILE: WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD
SCRIPTURES: LUKE 8:43-48

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Today, we will talk about a famous woman in the Bible who had a lot of faith. People often use her as an example when talking about faith. We don’t know her name, but she is called the woman with the issue of blood. But, Jesus called her daughter. Twelve years before this time, she was diagnosed with Menorrhagia, which is a condition where a woman bleeds consistently. If you’ve ever experienced a situation where your period is unpredictable or too heavy, you can understand how scary and devastating it can be. I had a similar experience when I had fibroids. Sometimes my period would last longer than normal and the bleeding was too much, which caused other problems. My blood levels became low, and I became anemic. I looked pale and had vitamin deficiencies that made my lips break badly. I also felt very tired and dizzy. The whole experience was terrible. But it’s still nothing compared to what this woman had to go through.

Desperation

In Israeli culture, bleeding regularly meant she was seen as unclean. Because of this, she couldn’t socialize and had to keep to herself. She couldn’t go to the temple to worship because of her impurity, and her condition didn’t just go away overnight. She had been consistently unclean for 12 years, and despite her efforts, she couldn’t find a solution. She had exhausted all possible remedies and sought help from healers and medical professionals, but nothing worked. Now, she was not only ill but also financially struggling. This woman was in a desperate situation until she heard about Jesus, who had the power to help her.

So she begins to say to herself, “If I could only touch the hem of His garment.” You know, it is important what you say to yourself. It can spur you to action. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. And the thoughts that you say to yourself define you. They can influence your actions.

Go Low

After saying this, this woman stepped out and a crowd was around Jesus. She couldn’t get access to her solution but all she needed was the hem of His garment. She didn’t need the attention, she didn’t need the focus. I imagine her on her knees going beneath everybody because she needed to touch Jesus. She went beneath. Can you go beneath in desperation seeking the Lord? Or is that too much to do? May we not have issues that we have to learn faith the hard way. Because if you’re in a tough situation, you will realize that you are not too beautiful or too dignified to crawl.

This woman reached out her hands and touched Jesus. And this is what was most amazing to me, She got her healing without Jesus’ permission. Her faith was enough to draw power out of Him, to draw a miracle from Him, to draw healing from Him. And he only noticed this after the fact because Jesus was on his way on another mission. So she was an interruption in His schedule. Yet, her faith was enough to give her a miracle.

Let Nothing Stop You

You see, sometimes your faith can be enough to get Jesus to work with you. Your faith in Him can be enough to draw a miracle out of Him. Jesus said in Luke 18 that if you come to an unjust king asking for help repeatedly even if he doesn’t want to help you, he will because you are persistent. How much more God? Beloved, you need to be desperate enough to draw out a miracle in this season. Let your faith move you toward Jesus. Don’t let the crowd stop you. Start speaking to yourself even now and stir yourself up to seek God.

Don’t let your condition stop you, don’t let the labels stop you. Reach out and touch the hem of Jesus’ garment in the place of prayer, in believing, in trusting in the word. You will see that when you do so, healing will flow, miracles will flow, and change will come for you. Jesus will say to you, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole.”

Shalom