Mark 5:21-34
'When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. '
To say that my grandmother had a way with words, is an ultimate understatement. Things she told me when I was younger, I have begun to see unfold the older I get. My one and only dating advice was…”How you get him, is how you keep him.” Other sayings she had were, “ You teach people how to treat you”, “A hungry man will eat” and one of the greatest platinum string of words that I have held on to and have proven true time and time again, that have made it into my hall of fame is…..”You can not want for someone more than they want for themselves.” When you want for yourself, you understand and know that there is no plan B does not exist; there is only plan A. And because there is no plan B, you will do whatever it takes to get what you need.
One of the many things I have learned in life, is that women, are one of the greatest, yet strongest determined forces of nature ever created by the hand and heart of God Himself. It has been well documented that slaves give birth to their babies in fields where they worked and immediately went back to work. History speaks of the Dohoumey Tribe in Africa that was commissioned by a king to protect their tribe and kingdom. The army that was created, was made up entirely of women was so underestimated that a ship full of warring soldiers that wanted to take over their country tried to kill the female soldiers with guns. What the opposing army did not know was that this army of women hid in trees and underwater with waiting machetes so sharp that the missionaries who watched wrote that one of the women split a man in half and the rest of the opposing soldiers turned back around and left their island. These women did not care about their nails being manicured, the height of their heels, or any type of comfort…there was something to get done, and it needed…a woman’s touch.
Things were no different for this woman in the text. She had been diagnosed by various doctors with Severe Anemia, Endometriosis, Fibroids and the likes over the span of 12 years, with still no resolution. This woman was experiencing not only a financial bankruptcy, but also emotional and physical ruin as well. There was no one willing to risk being unclean, yet she bled on every one she came in contact with. Can you imagine the horror? Purchasing Kotex, Always with wings or no wings, Tampax, or O.B. every other month to accommodate your menstruation—the blood, the blood clots, the insistent flow, the “accidents” because you gauged wrong, hour after hour, day in and day out. To get a clearer view, that is 105,120 hours or 4,380 days, 625 weeks, 144 months, 1.2 decade of constant bleeding. 12 years, nonstop! And to literally put the cherry on top-this woman was deemed a social outcast due to her being pronounced ceremonially unclean due to Levitical Law. There was one option, and no other choices and she had to go with everything she could muster.
As she saw the crowd gathering, she began to assemble alongside them pushing through the crowd armed with only her faith…her hope touching against frustration, her faith touching against disappointment, hurt ...… as her arms reached forward to touch Jesus, so did her faith stretch forward; her faith hoping that she would be healed this day. Her faith speaking to Him that if His touch can not do it, then it would not be done. She wanted healing, and she went after healing. And healing she received!!! Her touch of faith was so powerful that Jesus Himself felt His power leave Him, turned around to ask who touched Him. It was not the physical touch that He recognized, because there were others in the crowd with her touching Him. It was her touch of faith! But wait, the story keeps on getting better…. This woman who not only sought healing from Jesus, received overflow. The woman only intended
to be healed, instead she received the distinguished title of daughter! The woman who was once had no family or connections to speak of, now received a Father like no other!!! And that Father addressed ALL of her concerns. And she told Him the truth of the matter at His feet. She wanted healing and she got healing, and so much more. So my dare friends and sisters, I come to you asking you..what do you want? What do you need? What are you willing to go after? And do you have enough faith to go after it with only one option? Jesus!! Do as this woman did at the feet of Jesus and tell him everything. Tell Him where it hurt, tell Him who made it hurt. And get this Sis, you don’t have just the option to tell Him, you can also SHOW Him. He is not just willing to heal, but able to heal, able to deliver, able to set free, able to give you freedom, turn your mourning into dancing, able to turn this thing may look like a grave into the most beautiful garden. How bad do YOU want it? Are you willing to meet Him with EVERYTHING you have, then unpack it at his feet…..

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