When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ~Mark 5:27-28
As I sat at my desk at work, my phone chimed to let me know that I had received a new email. When I opened it, it was the news I had been waiting for from my dear friend. She had a CT Scan today to see if the new medication she was using had worked to fight against the growth of the cancerous tumors she has in various parts of her body.
The CT Scan showed that some of the tumors had grown by a few millimeters, and three more had grown on her liver. She then explained that if the growth of the tumors on her liver speeds up, there is nothing that can be done.
I kept reading that part of my sweet friend's email and started feeling so sorry for her. My heart was hurting for her. And honestly, I imagined myself in her position, and tears welled up in my eyes. Then, I finally read the email to the end. What I saw in her last line sent chills all through my body. These were her exact words: "I'm going with 'I feel good' and praying that God will use me however long I have."
I thought about the last line of her email for a long time. I was amazed by her positivity but most of all blown away by her crazy faith. I say crazy faith because that is the kind of faith it takes to step out of the script we've written for our lives and allow God to write every line of our story.
I'm sure my friend has asked, I dare to even say begged God to heal her of her illness many times. I can imagine that there were times that she left her doctor, wondering if God was listening to her prayers. I'll even go further and say there may have been times that she was a little disappointed by or angry with God. Of course, she has never said these things to me, but if it were me I know that all of the above would apply.
As I reflected on her words, I began to think about the familiar scripture about the woman with the issue of blood. Not in the traditional way that we normally hear this story, but the Holy Spirit showed me a different view.
See, the story about this woman, if we only look at it literally, explains that her faith made her whole physically. But, as I thought about the years that my friend has been battling cancer and the years that she has been following Jesus, I went deeper into this passage of scripture. I realized that this isn't just a story about physical healing, but it is also a story about spiritual healing.
We got to see Jesus perform as a physical and spiritual healer. Don't think for one moment that the only healing that took place in the woman that day was the healing of her body.
Jesus was on His way to heal a little girl when someone from the crowd touched Him. All the woman wanted to do was just touch Jesus' robe, and she had faith that she would be healed. I wonder, though, did she expect what happened after she caught a hold of Jesus' robe. She couldn't have known that Jesus was so in tuned to her and loved her so much that it was obvious it was she who touched Him. Sure, He turned around and addressed the crowd asking, "Who touched me?", but Jesus was quite aware that it was this woman.
Here's a thought: Even in a crowded world of people who are lost and hurt God is still aware of our specific need of His healing in our own lives. When He feels us tugging at Him in a crowd, He will stop what He is doing just to give us an opportunity to touch the hem of His garment so He can grow our faith in His love for us.
Can you imagine what this must have done for the woman's faith? She spent 12 long years suffering from this illness and had seen so many doctors that she not only exhausted her resources but also her faith. Jesus' acknowledgement of her both healed her physically and restored her faith all in one instance.
What if Jesus chose to acknowledge this woman and heal her spiritually but chose not to heal her physical illness? Would she have allowed Jesus' spiritual healing to still grow her faith? Honestly, the scripture doesn't mention her after her miraculous healing, so we don't even know if she chose to follow Jesus beyond the moment that she was healed.
Let me pause and say that we do that sometimes, you know? We beg God for a miracle and promise to always follow Him, but as soon as we receive the blessing we have asked for we forget our promise to Him.
I pondered this because it is very evident that my dear friend has chosen to keep walking in faith although her physical healing has not come. She has chosen God's will over her own desire to be healed. Furthermore, she is praying for God to use her until His work in and through her is complete.
Complete.
Made whole.
In her desperation to be healed of her physical ailment, the woman in Mark 5 stepped out into the crowd and got on the ground just to grab hold of Jesus' robe. Doesn't life get so tough sometimes that we literally have to get down to the ground reaching for some glimmer of hope to be made a reality by our Father above? Like the woman, often we are wanting to be be freed from something that is tormenting us in our physical lives, but how often do we reach out to grab Jesus for healing in our spiritual lives?
Trust me when I say, I just asked myself that same question. In the last 6 months alone, I have asked God to make mountains move in several areas of my life. I forgot to pause and ask Him how he wanted to make me whole spiritually during the trials I was facing. What if He chose not to move those mountains, would I have recognized that He still made me whole through the growing of my faith and the building of my character?
It is through the trials and sufferings we endure in this life that we are shown how intimately we truly walk with Christ. In these moments do we bow out of the fight, or do we allow Jesus' love to develop and envelop our hearts to the point where we desire to bring Him glory more than we seek a blessing?
Although, I know this journey has not been an easy one for my precious friend, I also know that in each step of the way God is making her faith and knowledge of His love for her complete, and He will honor her prayer for Him to use her until His work in her is over (Philippians 1:6).
I believe that even if the physical healing for my friend doesn't come, when she gave her life to Christ, that single moment that she allowed Jesus to touch her heart truly made her whole. I am sure that it can't be easy for her to understand the why, but she has chosen to have crazy faith to trust in the Who.
Dedicated to Maureen Davis: Thank you for displaying your crazy faith! God has already answered your prayer because He is using your faith to inspire me to go deeper in mine. I love you!
The CT Scan showed that some of the tumors had grown by a few millimeters, and three more had grown on her liver. She then explained that if the growth of the tumors on her liver speeds up, there is nothing that can be done.
I kept reading that part of my sweet friend's email and started feeling so sorry for her. My heart was hurting for her. And honestly, I imagined myself in her position, and tears welled up in my eyes. Then, I finally read the email to the end. What I saw in her last line sent chills all through my body. These were her exact words: "I'm going with 'I feel good' and praying that God will use me however long I have."
I thought about the last line of her email for a long time. I was amazed by her positivity but most of all blown away by her crazy faith. I say crazy faith because that is the kind of faith it takes to step out of the script we've written for our lives and allow God to write every line of our story.
I'm sure my friend has asked, I dare to even say begged God to heal her of her illness many times. I can imagine that there were times that she left her doctor, wondering if God was listening to her prayers. I'll even go further and say there may have been times that she was a little disappointed by or angry with God. Of course, she has never said these things to me, but if it were me I know that all of the above would apply.
As I reflected on her words, I began to think about the familiar scripture about the woman with the issue of blood. Not in the traditional way that we normally hear this story, but the Holy Spirit showed me a different view.
See, the story about this woman, if we only look at it literally, explains that her faith made her whole physically. But, as I thought about the years that my friend has been battling cancer and the years that she has been following Jesus, I went deeper into this passage of scripture. I realized that this isn't just a story about physical healing, but it is also a story about spiritual healing.
We got to see Jesus perform as a physical and spiritual healer. Don't think for one moment that the only healing that took place in the woman that day was the healing of her body.
Jesus was on His way to heal a little girl when someone from the crowd touched Him. All the woman wanted to do was just touch Jesus' robe, and she had faith that she would be healed. I wonder, though, did she expect what happened after she caught a hold of Jesus' robe. She couldn't have known that Jesus was so in tuned to her and loved her so much that it was obvious it was she who touched Him. Sure, He turned around and addressed the crowd asking, "Who touched me?", but Jesus was quite aware that it was this woman.
Here's a thought: Even in a crowded world of people who are lost and hurt God is still aware of our specific need of His healing in our own lives. When He feels us tugging at Him in a crowd, He will stop what He is doing just to give us an opportunity to touch the hem of His garment so He can grow our faith in His love for us.
Can you imagine what this must have done for the woman's faith? She spent 12 long years suffering from this illness and had seen so many doctors that she not only exhausted her resources but also her faith. Jesus' acknowledgement of her both healed her physically and restored her faith all in one instance.
What if Jesus chose to acknowledge this woman and heal her spiritually but chose not to heal her physical illness? Would she have allowed Jesus' spiritual healing to still grow her faith? Honestly, the scripture doesn't mention her after her miraculous healing, so we don't even know if she chose to follow Jesus beyond the moment that she was healed.
Let me pause and say that we do that sometimes, you know? We beg God for a miracle and promise to always follow Him, but as soon as we receive the blessing we have asked for we forget our promise to Him.
I pondered this because it is very evident that my dear friend has chosen to keep walking in faith although her physical healing has not come. She has chosen God's will over her own desire to be healed. Furthermore, she is praying for God to use her until His work in and through her is complete.
Complete.
Made whole.
In her desperation to be healed of her physical ailment, the woman in Mark 5 stepped out into the crowd and got on the ground just to grab hold of Jesus' robe. Doesn't life get so tough sometimes that we literally have to get down to the ground reaching for some glimmer of hope to be made a reality by our Father above? Like the woman, often we are wanting to be be freed from something that is tormenting us in our physical lives, but how often do we reach out to grab Jesus for healing in our spiritual lives?
Trust me when I say, I just asked myself that same question. In the last 6 months alone, I have asked God to make mountains move in several areas of my life. I forgot to pause and ask Him how he wanted to make me whole spiritually during the trials I was facing. What if He chose not to move those mountains, would I have recognized that He still made me whole through the growing of my faith and the building of my character?
It is through the trials and sufferings we endure in this life that we are shown how intimately we truly walk with Christ. In these moments do we bow out of the fight, or do we allow Jesus' love to develop and envelop our hearts to the point where we desire to bring Him glory more than we seek a blessing?
Although, I know this journey has not been an easy one for my precious friend, I also know that in each step of the way God is making her faith and knowledge of His love for her complete, and He will honor her prayer for Him to use her until His work in her is over (Philippians 1:6).
I believe that even if the physical healing for my friend doesn't come, when she gave her life to Christ, that single moment that she allowed Jesus to touch her heart truly made her whole. I am sure that it can't be easy for her to understand the why, but she has chosen to have crazy faith to trust in the Who.
Dedicated to Maureen Davis: Thank you for displaying your crazy faith! God has already answered your prayer because He is using your faith to inspire me to go deeper in mine. I love you!