"A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 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. 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."
Mark 5:24-29
I recently had a moment after reading this passage. I was driving in my car, running errands for Reese's third birthday, and I was praying. Out loud I was talking to God about how amazed I was at this woman's faith. In the book What Women Fear by Angie Smith she says, "Jesus makes it clear in this moment that she is not to be known as the woman with the issue of blood, but rather the woman who had faith in Him. She will not be known for what she was, but by what she had in spite of it." LOVE this. This gave me hope. Hope in knowing that I would not be known by all of my shortcomings, but by how I chose to let God be glorified through them. I openly discussed all of this with God as I drove around that day. I thanked Him for sharing this story with us through his word and for giving us hope despite our struggles, pains and limitations.
However, something else, that I did not expect in that moment struck me head on. I was praying along and all of a sudden God really hit me with some truth. I felt a warmth come over me as He said, "Amber, this same Jesus, this same God, you read about is not a figure of the past. The Jesus you read about that healed this woman, the Jesus that she had great faith in, is me and I am just as alive now as I was then. I have given you the ability to directly communicate with me. People get excited about meeting a celebrity and speaking to them or getting an autograph. How much greater is it to have a continual direct line to the creator of the universe?" As this realization struck me I started crying. I always have realized we could talk to God whenever we needed, but I do not think I had realized what a precious gift it truly is.
He is there, whether we feel Him at the time or not. Feelings are fickle, so we cannot let them guide our actions or our lives. We should practice talking to Him on a daily basis. We need to let our kids hear us talking to Him and thanking Him even for the little things. A parking place at the store. A cozy bed to sleep in. A warm meal on the table. Thank Him for it all. Request His will to be done in your life with faith.
The woman mentioned in this passage is such a sweet, gentle reminder of what genuine, full out faith should look like. We may feel a little shaky at times and it may require practice, but we should take those steps of faith towards Him. It says that this woman was sick for twelve years. She had been to countless doctors to no avail. Yet, when she heard about Jesus, she pressed past all of the suffering and doubt, all of the doctors she had seen, and the crowds to reach out to Jesus. Sometimes we need to take those first steps of faith toward Jesus, even if they are baby steps. One of the grandest things we can do today is to take the time to talk to Him. After all, how absolutely amazing is it that we have the ability to converse with the creator of the universe?!
How easily we take it for granted.
However, something else, that I did not expect in that moment struck me head on. I was praying along and all of a sudden God really hit me with some truth. I felt a warmth come over me as He said, "Amber, this same Jesus, this same God, you read about is not a figure of the past. The Jesus you read about that healed this woman, the Jesus that she had great faith in, is me and I am just as alive now as I was then. I have given you the ability to directly communicate with me. People get excited about meeting a celebrity and speaking to them or getting an autograph. How much greater is it to have a continual direct line to the creator of the universe?" As this realization struck me I started crying. I always have realized we could talk to God whenever we needed, but I do not think I had realized what a precious gift it truly is.
He is there, whether we feel Him at the time or not. Feelings are fickle, so we cannot let them guide our actions or our lives. We should practice talking to Him on a daily basis. We need to let our kids hear us talking to Him and thanking Him even for the little things. A parking place at the store. A cozy bed to sleep in. A warm meal on the table. Thank Him for it all. Request His will to be done in your life with faith.
The woman mentioned in this passage is such a sweet, gentle reminder of what genuine, full out faith should look like. We may feel a little shaky at times and it may require practice, but we should take those steps of faith towards Him. It says that this woman was sick for twelve years. She had been to countless doctors to no avail. Yet, when she heard about Jesus, she pressed past all of the suffering and doubt, all of the doctors she had seen, and the crowds to reach out to Jesus. Sometimes we need to take those first steps of faith toward Jesus, even if they are baby steps. One of the grandest things we can do today is to take the time to talk to Him. After all, how absolutely amazing is it that we have the ability to converse with the creator of the universe?!
How easily we take it for granted.
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