Saturday, August 30, 2014

Waiting on Jesus, part 10: the Power of the Telling

But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." (Luke 8:46-48 NASB)

The woman had been sick for years. She'd tried cure after cure, only to realize that they took her money without helping her at all. Her family and everyone who loved her had given up hope. Healing would not come by mere human hands. That was obvious from the fortune that had been spent trying to be healed. 

She might be down to the last hope, but she wasn't quite ready to give up yet.

Jesus, however, had raised the dead, given sight to the blind, wholeness to the lame. Jesus was not just a man. He was filled with the power of God. He was God made flesh. Jesus could heal her; she was sure of it. 

It was her intent to escape notice. This woman who had spent the last twelve years unclean because of her hemorrhaging must have planned her move so carefully. She was going to slip into the crowd, move up behind Jesus, touch His fringe, receive healing, and slip away. No one would ever know. Even if she accidentally touched them in the crowd, even if she made them unclean by her touch, they wouldn't have to know, would they? She had suffered enough, and she was going to try. 

When she touched the fringe, it was like a hot wave moving through her. She knew something was happening. She knew she was healed. No doubt about it. She wanted to shout for joy, but she had been unclean so long that she knew better. She was going to slip away as quickly as possible. 

Then, Jesus spoke. "Who touched Me?" He asked. Her heart began to sink. What would happen next? She knew she was healed. Would He take it away? Would those she brushed against turn on her because she had touched them? She was shaking like a leaf as she fell at the feet of Jesus. "Me. It was me," she confessed. When she looked up, those eyes full of compassion and love met hers and she lifted her head and began to speak. A hush fell over the crowd as she told her story for all to hear. She spoke of her illness, all the failed attempts at healing, her hope that Jesus could make her whole, and the miracle of healing she had experienced. 

She told it all and everyone heard her. Her body was healed when she touched that fringe, but in that instant of telling, her spirit was healed as well.  At the feet of Jesus there was no condemnation. All she found there was an outpouring of grace, mercy, and love. She had told a crowd about her healing. After that, she could tell anyone. Everyone. 

When hope and help were gone, all that remained was Jesus. It turned out that He was all she needed. 

Are you in a weary place, desperate for circumstances to change? Take your need to Jesus and let Him do what only He can do, in whatever way He sees fit. With a heart filled with gratitude, tell your story of grace to all who will listen. 
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Link to last night's post is here and includes our prayer guide for the persecuted church: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/friday-night-with-friends-radical.html

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