A Sick Woman - Mark 5:25-34

The story of the woman who was sick for 12 years and then pushed her way through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus is one that I've become very familiar with over the last year. As I have read over it and over it, I keep wondering why the Lord continues to put it back in front of me. I guess I have my private suspicions but it really boils down to the fact that I can't seem to get certain truths from my head to my heart. It's a whole 18 inches of separation between the two, but it might as well be 18 miles. Am I the only who struggles like this?

I see this woman in my mind nearly every day. She has become distant and reserved after 12 years of bleeding and by law being required to stay out of the town. Financially she is depleted from seeing every type of doctor there was in that day. Probably some of them weren't even doctors. Not only is she broke, but she is now worse. Boy, can I relate to that scenario.

But, something was going on with her during all those years that she was able to hang on. Because by the time she heard about Jesus coming to town she had enough faith to break the law and head straight for the Messiah. In my mind, I think she probably is anemic from the years of losing blood...exhausted from trying to carry her share of the work around the house. When the excitement started brewing in town, she would have had to push her way through a pretty aggressive crowd because they were all pressing in on Jesus to see him. Somehow she managed to push past men much stronger than her, children who could have taken her out at the ankles and those who knew of her situation. Is that what God is asking me to do? Push past the doubt, fear, symptoms and all the outward circumstances that tell me something different?

And, how do I touch him? How am I supposed to reach out and touch the hem of his robe? Sometimes I am a black and white girl and I need to know what that looks like for me in this very moment. I'm also a slow learner and I need it not only spoken to me, but I need the black board and all of the props for me to understand the truth. As I was reading a book called "Christ the Healer" by F.F. Bosworth, searching for some of these answers, the author addressed this very topic. His answer: "By believing His promises. We touch him by asking, and believing that He hears our prayers when we pray." Scripture is very clear that it wasn't her physically touching Jesus that healed her, although that was part of her process...He told her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you."

My struggle is the wait. In my mind I'm ticking off birthday's, holiday's, seasons that are slipping by, a body that is feeling more tired and weary. The question still remains...am I willing to keep pushing through the crowd? Well, Monday I will leave the comforts of my bedroom and all the things I have acquired to help me feel "safe", travel over 900 miles to see a doctor who himself received instaneous healing after being in bed for eight years, and trusting the entire outcome to my Savior. If I have been able to trust Him for my salvation, then surely I can trust Him for my healing. Didn't He die on the cross for both of those things? Stay tuned!