Mark chapter 5
Many of you know the story in Mark chapter 5 of healing by faith. I have heard about it briefly before and once gave it a read over, but only recently have I visited it with further exploration and intention to learn. It’s something I intend on revisiting at a later date, but for now I want to share my thoughts on it.
Twelve years
I personally cannot imagine twelve years of pain. Whether it’s physical, mental, or emotional, the idea of it is simply incomprehensible for me. I am aware that this is quite possibly the case for someone or some people. Many people, actually. And for many, even longer.
The woman in this story suffered from twelve years of bleeding. The physical pain she endured on a daily basis is unimaginable. I cannot fathom it. Cutting our fingers when opening a can is bad enough. But twelve years? That’s far longer than a trip to the first aid cupboard. It’s longer than just sleeping on it. It’s longer than a year. It’s twelve. Twelve years of bleeding.
He can heal
Now I may have not experienced twelve years of pain but I’ve significantly felt one. And if it wasn’t for people around me and my relationship with God it could have led to two. Then three. And so on. But it’s because of God’s grace and His goodness that I was healed and that we are healed.
Desperate for Him
Maybe you’re like me. Maybe the idea of twelve years of pain is incomprehensible too. I hope so. But this was the woman’s reality and oh, how I bet she was desperate to change it. To be healed. But she couldn’t have gone to Him… to be healed by Him. I’m sure she wanted to. Desperately. That’s an understatement.
All that time she would have spent wanting healing. Wanting Jesus. But this was in a time when Jesus was physically walking the earth. And in fact, was less accessible than people walking the earth today. You had to get physically close to access Him.
Pushing through
So she pushed. She desperately pushed through the crowds to get to him. Crowds in awe. Crowds who loved him and believed in Him. Crowds who weren’t doing anything bad or wrong but were just there with Him, brushing against him, not touching Him.
Not in faith. Because they saw Him. They weren’t desperate for Him. And as they touched by brushing against one another they weren’t transformed. At least there were no accounts of it.
Yet she was. The one who pushed through. The one who reached out. The one who desperately sought after Jesus with the faith that convinced her He was the answer. He was the one to heal her pain. And He was.
Now
So which are you? The crowd in awe, or the one pushing through?
He no longer walks this earth. He is no longer inaccessible. He is accessible. In fact, He is right there right now. Right there with you in the pain you are going through. Yet often we just stand in awe, knowing Him, believing in him, brushing against him… but not reaching out in faith.
We don’t have to endure the pain until we see Him physically in front of us. And we don’t need to physically reach out to physically touch Him. We just have to choose Him. We have to reach out our hands, our arms, our heart, our mind and our soul to touch Him. To embrace Him.
We all experience pain. Maybe not twelve years of it, but we do. But don’t let it be longer than that. Don’t even let it get to that, or any further than right now. Reach out. In faith. And touch Him. And see what He can do.