“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.” Luke 8:43-44 NLT
Bible readers will remember Luke’s stirring account about the bleeding woman and her encounter with the Great Physician. Luke, a physician himself, understood her condition, her suffering, and the powerful healing of Jesus when faith is utilized. Let’s read Luke’s historical notes on this case.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.
”When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.
“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:45-48 NLT
Some religions call Jesus a great prophet, others, a great teacher, still others a great man. Without question, Jesus’ teaching promotes a deeper spiritual understanding, prompting us to action, but most assuredly this healing is Jesus being God!
Jesus knew who touched him, but his question caused a stirring in the woman’s heart. He also knew her testimony before this large crowd would be powerful. She was living proof we serve an awesome God, who heals in every conceivable way! Are you deliberate with Jesus? Do you share the great things He has done?
You may not be able to relate to this woman, but all of us can recall a time when our hearts were so badly broken, we did not know if we could survive.
It was January 23, 1977 when my mother and I began to cross stitch a quilt. I thought it rather odd that my mother purchased a wedding ring quilt for us to work on together. For one thing, I was anything but crafty. I had little patience for this kind of detail work. But my mother insisted we do it together, and she said, “when completed, it would be mine.”
Being thirteen, I had no dreams of getting married. In fact, marriage was the furthest thing from my mind. I wanted to be an actress, not a wife. Our cross stitching began the first night of the miniseries “Roots”. It was very emotional, the horrific things people endured was gut-wrenching. Kleenex kept most of my tears off the quilt, but sometimes they would soak through.
From my earliest memories, my parents encouraged us to treat everyone the same, so I found it odd my mother wanted me to watch this program with her. We finished the quilt during the last episode of Roots. The quilt was beautiful. My mother died the next year shortly after I turned fourteen.
“The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain, and he is always ready to restore the repentant one. Even when bad things happen to the good and godly ones, The Lord will save them and not let them be defeated by what they face.” Psalm 34:18-19 TPT
The quilt never made it to my bed, I kept it hidden away. It was too painful, all the memories, the good, the bad and the ugly. God reminded me of the quilt a few weeks ago. Home alone, I felt compelled to go downstairs and find it. Straining on my tip toes, reaching towards the top shelf, I grasped the quilt and cradled it into my heart. Carrying it upstairs, my mind flooded with memories of cross stitching and watching the series with my mother.
Gently placing the quilt across my bed, I fell to my knees weeping loudly. The damn had broken, and tears flooded my face. I cried, “God, why now, after all these years? “
Speaking over my sobs, God brushed away the emotional despair and confusion. Like the sun piercing the clouds, one by one, God soothed my wounds.
My immaturity had not allowed me to understand my mother’s need to reach out to me. In that desperate moment, my mother knew she was dying with cancer. She knew this together time would be the closest she would come to my wedding. While I was clueless, she was reaching out to me, making a lasting memory of our brief time together. Finally, God stitched his healing balm into my hurts, and the shattered pieces of my heart came together.
Just like the woman with the issue of bleeding, my heart bled for many years. But it is in our desperation, with eyes swelling, throat choking, trying to swallow cotton, that God is there healing the hurts.
When He heals the buried deep hurts in our hearts, we realize just how deep and wide His love is for us. Even you. It would not have happened if I had not tippy toed, reaching up for Jesus, touching the healing hem of Heaven.
More than anything, our country needs Jesus. But the lost do not know the way to Him. It will take Christians repenting, reaching out to Jesus, for the healing balm to wash across this land. If we will reach out to Jesus, allow Him to heal our hurts, we can then bring Jesus to those who want healing too.
When we are desperate for Jesus, and deliberate in faith, we unleash the power of the SON!
