43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. – Luke 8:43-47 (NIV)
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 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. 27 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.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. – Mark 5:25-29 (NIV)
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. – Matthew 9:20-22 (NIV)
This woman was subjected to years of agony without remedy. She suffered for years without any help. No matter what she tried to do for herself, she got no better and her health continued to drift in a spiral downturn. Under the care of her doctors, the woman only grew worse, not better. She was in a bad situation. She was in the need of a healing.
The woman heard about Jesus somehow. Maybe someone told her. Maybe she overheard someone else talking about Him. It could be that she got word about Jesus from those who had seen, heard or followed Him while in some other area of the region.
She heard about Jesus and made her way to Jesus. She forced her way into His presence. He worked her way to get near to Him. The woman fought her way through the thick of the crowd, slipping in her and ducking out there, just to extend her frail hand to swipe His garment a little bit.
As sickly as she was, she was able to squeeze her hand between those closest to Jesus. She might have reached between Peter and John or James and Andrew, but she stretched out her hand and touched His garment. She reached out to Jesus in faith. She sought her healing through the Lamb of God who caused the blind to see and the dead to rise again. She reached out to Him, seeking His power to somehow heal her hurting body.
When she touched the edge of His robe, she was healed. She was freed from her pain and suffering. She found deliverance from the horrors of her poor health. The Lord made her whole by the power that escaped from within Him. He healed her in an instant.
He changed her without ever having to ask her whether she had health insurance or her family medical history. Jesus did not investigate her background information or verify her proof of residency before He could see her. His disciples did require a co-payment or an at-the-door offering with the caveat of “Or, whatever you can give” added on as a trailer behind their request for monetary compensation. That’s not how it went down. That’s not what went on.
Jesus can heal us without anything else to get in the way. He can make us whole. He can fix us where we need fixing the most. He can make us better.We do not have to live with the dread of defeat. We do not have live in such agony and torture. All we have to do is seek Him out and reach out for Him. He offers us a healing that will cause all of what ails us to cease and provide us with peace and rest.
Let Jesus have all of your troubles and leave them in His hands. Trust Him with all of your faith to deal with your issues. He can do more with them than we ever could. Let Him handle it.
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