Warrior Truth: Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, because you dared to believe, your faith has healed you. Go with peace in your heart, and be free from your suffering!” Mark 5 v 34 (TPT)
Given the opportunity to share at our monthly ladies gathering, I gladly accepted, trusting God for a word in season to share with those who would be present. He laid on my heart the account of the woman with the issue of blood from Mark 5 (v21-34). As I spent time reading and reflecting on the verses, I got so excited to share what I felt God saying to me, hopeful that it would also be meaningful to someone else in the room that evening. And when 2 separate instances in the week leading up to my devotion, the same story was shared, I thanked God for confirming His word and prayed for His anointing in delivering it clearly and as He intended.
While my focus was on this unknown woman in the story, the preceding verses caught my attention as I realized their importance in the message I was reading. The scene was set of Jesus, just stepping off a boat and being met by a large crowd. I envisioned a noisy throng of people all vying for Jesus attention hoping to get something they needed from Him. As a frequent traveler, I cringed. The next character we meet at this point is a man of influence who is able to push his way through the crowd to fall at Jesus feet. I can’t help but get the sense that Jairus’s position in society aided his mission. As Jesus compassionately accepts the father’s plea, the crowd moves along with them.
It is at this point, we are introduced to the woman. We don’t know who she is, only that she has struggled with her disease for twelve long years. She has spent everything she could on medical care but her condition has only worsened over the years and I assume, given the time, it had left her weakened, undesirable and certainly unwelcomed in society. But her struggle does not define her. Her faith, courage, resilience and action do.
Hearing of the reports of Jesus’s miracles, faith stirs within her and she makes a brave and courageous decision to go in search of Him. It must have been a tiring and difficult action for her to take both physically and socially. She knows she is not welcome in the crowd but fortunately, as their attention is on Jesus, she is able to hide away in it. She doesn’t let the crowd deter her and realizing that her voice would not be loud enough to be heard in the crowd, she fights through the crowd to get within reach of His garment. Reaching out she exercises her faith and touches Jesus’s garments and is healed. Her touch goes unnoticed to the crowd but catches Jesus attention. Her faith action (and faith statement recorded) catch the attention of Jesus and He stops, turns and seeks her out in the crowd.
I don’t believe that Jesus really needed to know who touched Him. I believe He knew already but calls her out to give her the opportunity to share her story, which she is able to do as she responds to Jesus’s question. If she had slipped away in the crowd, this account would probably never have been featured. She would have had her healing but we would all have missed the most precious part of this entire story: She is acknowledged and adopted, healed, granted peace and freedom; and declared Daughter of the King!
Warrior Tools: The more I reflect on this account, the more convinced I am that God designs every detail of our lives (whether we know it, see it or are ready to accept it). What might appear as unscheduled or even an interruption in our eyes, is a moment carefully timed by God. For us to experience the fullness of that moment, it requires us to act in faith so that we can claim our miracle. And then, when we receive our miracle, He asks us to share it so others might hear of His steadfast love, His goodness and never-ending grace. This is my story too as it is for many others. Warrior for Worthiness is one of the ways I tell my story so that others might also find His grace in their time of need.
Prayer: My prayer over you if you find yourself in a place of struggle is this:
Whatever your burden and no matter what you have tried to solve it, you do not need to carry that burden any longer. Do not be scared off by what society might think and do not feel that you are insignificant to God. He has designed every moment to be your moment to touch His garments if you choose to. And if you find yourself struggling with something that has isolated you from God’s family and from God himself, know that He is seeking you out in this moment. He is saying, Oh precious child, do not get lost in the crowd any longer, reach out, put your faith in Him. You will see that His grace is more than enough. Take the action He is stirring in your heart to take. And if you have already received your miracle, God is inviting you to share your story! Trust God with the details of your life today – you will not be disappointed! Amen
With God, For His Glory