06/26/2018
Do we look to Jesus for healing? Do we depend upon Him to come to us in our times of illness and to lay His healing hand upon our head? Do we wait for Him to say rise and walk, to return our eyesight, or to restore our hearing with a bold touch? Well sometimes His healing comes when we go secretly to Him, because He is more than just a healer... even in His unawares He demonstrated that He is the essence of healing itself, and all that needs to happen for this to occur is for us to be near Him. And what’s more, it goes beyond healing… it’s the power of God in Him that allows Him to feed the many, raise the dead, and turn water into wine.
“And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."”
Mark 5:34 ESV
This verse comes from a story known to many as “Jesus heals a Woman”, and is a healing that took place as He was moving through a crowd on His way to heal the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. I love this particular story about “a woman” because she was no one of position or wealth; as a matter of fact, she had spent all she had on doctors, and had nothing left. Yet in this account the woman was bold enough, and had faith enough, to think that by simply touching His clothing that she would be healed... and in fact she was healed. Let’s listen to her account...
“She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”
Mark 5:27-29 ESV
This was not a typical bible healing that came as a result of a deliberate action on the part of the healer. In this case Jesus did nothing for this woman other than to walk close enough to her that she could reach out in faith and touch Him. He had no idea who had touched Him, and yet He felt the healing occur. Jesus was more than a healer; He was the healing itself. He was, and is, more than someone who dispenses power, he is a bottle filled to the brim with the power of God.
“And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?"”
Mark 5:30 ESV
This thrills me because it gives us hope even if we are a nobody who has been destitute, sick for years, and unworthy of a glance from Him; yet our faith and a simple brush with His divinity can heal us. It is this hope that brings people in throngs to places like Lourdes, France where the story goes that the Virgin Mary spoke to a young girl in a cave. It is this same hope that draws people from around the world to stand in the yard of a house in Texas and pray in front of a rusty image of Jesus on the side of an old refrigerator. It is faith in the unseen that miraculously heals... it is the same power of God that a simple touch of the clothing that Jesus was wearing by a random woman in a throng of people felt.
“But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.”
Mark 5:33 ESV
Have you ever been the recipient of a miracle, or met someone who has? If so, then you know that they want to talk about it... they want to shout about it to the world! If they were sinners and lost it would have changed their lives, and if they were believers they might have become saints. God’s purpose in healing and miracles is more than just to heal the one body that He touches, or that touched Jesus. Even though this woman was healed, it didn’t end there... she left with the peace of God... what do you think came of that? Let’s read…
“And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."”
Mark 5:34 ESV
There are secret miracles that occur to people who keep them bottled up within themselves, and when this happens God uses such people to do the secret work of His will, as they go on with their lives, so even these hidden occurrences have purpose. I carried such a miracle within me for years before at last I told the story openly, but I was not like this woman, in my case the miracle came to me, and it took me time to understand it. Sometimes the healing itself is the purpose as God displays it so that others might believe, but in some, especially the secret ones, it requires us to ask God what His will is for us now. With the Apostle Paul it was obvious to him, and us, but with this woman it was not so blatant. How far did the ripples of her healing go? What distant shore did they reach? Did it cause her family and friends to seek Jesus? Has it had the same effect on us too?
Hope, faith, and healing... are you waiting for a miracle to come your way? Do you go somewhere near to Jesus or a modern-day faith healer and ask for Him to heal you? Or perhaps you seek Jesus out in prayer knowing that if you can just get close enough you can secretly stretch out your hand and ever so gently touch his garment... and it will be enough to heal you.
I love the story of the woman who touched and was healed even though she didn’t think she was worthy of Jesus’ touch, and yet she believed that He could heal her if she could just touch Him. Isn’t this a great deal like you and me? Aren’t we so in awe of Jesus that we would go wherever He is just to touch His cloak... or even to stand in hopeful anticipation in the broiling Texas heat to see His rusty image?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the power you have placed in your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you Lord for the strength of our faith, and the hope we have in one day standing close enough to your Son that we too can reach out and touch His garment. Hear our prayers for healing, Father, and let your Holy Spirit come close enough that we can feel its touch, and receive the mercy of your power that is contained there. Give us a measure of faith that would draw us into the Texas heat where we would stand in prayer for hours on the outside Chance that we would find a glimpse of Jesus there. Lead us to the waters of Lourdes and immerse us in them as we pray that they might hold the very same touch of faith as that which was realized by the woman in the crowd. Holy Father, let your power and grace await our quivering finger, and give us a feeling of instant healing as we are blessed by your power that fills Jesus, and awaits a wretch’s stolen touch when we think no one will notice. You are merciful Abba, and you heal when it is least expected, but most anticipated. You come to us when we are devoid of hope in ourselves, destitute, and have nowhere else to turn. You hear our sobs, and the pain in our voice, as you urge us to come to you Gracious Father... “stretch forth your hand!” Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, the great healer and the healing power that pours from Jesus, your Son. In you nothing is impossible and we give you all honor and glory for every miracle and ripple of your power, grace, and will, that comes from them.
“ Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Jeremiah 32:17 ESV
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””
Matthew 19:26 ESV
Praised be your name as all who believe and have faith say… Amen!
Rich Forbes