“Now, in the crowd that day was a woman who had suffered horribly from continual bleeding for twelve years. She had endured a great deal under the care of various doctors, yet in spite of spending all she had on their treatments, she was not getting better, but worse. When she heard about Jesus’ healing power, she pushed through the crowd and came up from behind him and touched his prayer shawl. For she kept saying to herself, ‘If only I could touch his clothes, I know I will be healed.’ As soon as her hand touched him, her bleeding immediately stopped! She knew it, for she could feel her body instantly being healed of her disease! Then Jesus said to her, ‘Daughter, because you dared to believe, your faith has healed you. Go with peace in your heart, and be free from your suffering!'” Mark 5:25-29,34 TPT
Even though the crowd seemed overwhelming, her determination, fueled by her faith made it possible for her to touch a part of the clothing Jesus was wearing. How many of us have felt the need to touch just a piece of his clothing? Having faith does not mean life will be easier or that there will be no problems, instead faith makes living life possible.
In this passage, the woman had been sick for twelve years and had spent all she had in an attempt to get well, but nothing had helped. She could have let fear take over, or the fact that there was such a crowd already gathered around him stop her, instead, her determination, persistence, and more importantly, her faith enabled her to make her way through the crowd, so that she could touch a piece of his clothing. Her goal was not to touch Jesus himself, since due to the nature of her illness, according to Jewish law, this would have made him unclean. No matter how impossible our problems seem to us, through faith, we can make our way to him, simply by asking.
Heavenly Father, help us to remember that through faith nothing can keep us from reaching out and touching Jesus, and be ever so thankful.
In Christ Love
Margaret