I have a dear friend that is going through a very trying time right now. What a woman of faith she is and how she does love our LORD. Through all of this her “go to” Scripture is the one about the woman with a bleeding disease who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. You can find the story in Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24b-34; Luke 9;42B-48. Just like the woman in the story my friend’s name isn’t necessary, the LORD knows who she is. I just want her to know that:
Just as you know Jesus, He also knows you. Not only does He know you, He loves you totally. I, along with so many others love you too. We are praying for you. I’m posting this so that others may pray for you also. The following utube song is for you and anyone reading this that needs encouragement, strength for the road ahead, or just a moment with the Great Physician.
Jesus feels our dispair, our pain, our anxiety. Jesus will do a mighty work in the lives of His faithful.
“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
By: Voyle A. Glover
Few instances in the Bible illustrate faith better than the story of the woman who had a loathsome disease, a bloody discharge that had been with her for twelve years, and which had left her in poverty and in despair (Mark 5:25-34). There was no hope for her. She had spent all her money on doctors and they could not help her. She wasn’t in the category of leper, but pretty close. Her issue of blood made her “unclean” in the eyes and mind of every Jew. She wasn’t permitted to come into the temple. She could not mix and mingle. She had no social life. She had no income. She had no resources.
But , she had a plan.
This woman had heard of the man they called Jesus. She heard of the miracles this man performed. He was her last hope. She’d tried everything else. She’d tried everyone else. They’d failed. She’d heard of this man they were saying was Messiah. She’d heard of the sick being healed.
She realizes that she cannot meet Jesus. Remember, this is a woman who knows Jewish law. She knows she is like a leper to her kinsmen. So, trying to get an audience with Jesus was not even a consideration for her.
Instead, she carefully plans to infiltrate the entourage. She waits, and when Peter and James and John and the scores of disciples surrounding Jesus walk by, she crawls through the crowd and gets within inches of Jesus.
And, that’s all she needs. She doesn’t need to speak to Jesus. She doesn’t need to have Jesus speak to her. She doesn’t need to have Jesus pray over her. Her plan doesn’t contemplate any of those scenarios. She needs only to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. Note that she didn’t try to touch his hand or his feet or his person. She just reached out, stretching, reaching, until she touched, with a finger, the hem of Jesus’ garment.
Instantly, she was healed.
And, just as immediate, Jesus knew that someone has “touched” him. He knew that power had come from his person. He knew someone had tapped into the power that rested within and upon him: the power of Jehova Jirah.
He said to his disciples, “Who touched me?” They are astonished at his question because there is such a crowd around, and no doubt many people had touched him. They asked him why he’d say such a thing since the press of the people caused many to touch him. They don’t understand.
They did not realize Jesus has just been touched by faith.
But Jesus knew.
He pronounced the woman healed. But, Jesus then made sure the disciples understood what had occurred. He made sure they all understand that it is her faith that had made her whole, not some magical properties about his garment or his person, since many people had indeed touched him. He wanted all persons there and for all of eternity to realize that He’d been touched by a finger of faith.
This woman reached out with fingers of faith to touch the hem of the garment of Jesus. In her mind, it was sufficient if she but touched that hem, nothing more. She knew a garment would not heal her. She knew it was God who would heal her. She believed that there had to be an action on her part. That action was the touching of the hem of Jesus’ garment. And, her belief was absolutely on target. What she believed came true.
But, exactly what did she believe?
I’m convinced that this woman believed that Jesus was of God, that Jesus was someone who had the power of God in Him, and that he was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Deliverer, in whom every Jew held an expectation. She believed that she could reach out and touch God, by touching Jesus. Or, perhaps more correctly, she believed that by touching Jesus, God would touch her. And it was so. She believed that if she could get near enough to Jesus, she’d get near enough to the power of God to be affected, indeed, to be healed.
And, so it is with all who would receive anything from God. We can touch the Bible. We can touch the people of God. We can touch trappings that surround Christianity. But, these things are not enough. The Ancient Text called The Holy Bible says “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you….” James 4:8. This woman proved the veracity of that statement. If we would touch Jesus, if we would receive power, if we would receive healing, if we would receive blessings, then we must touch Jesus with faith.
Nothing else works.
unveiledfaces&heavenlyplaces 