Your Faith Can Make You Well

For twelve years she bled. We don’t know the cause. She was broke from seeking help. No one had an answer. She must have been weak, anemic, and weary.

It may be hard for us to imagine her condition. Can you envision a month of blood loss? Six months? A year?

Not only does she suffer, but she is labeled “unclean.” For 4,380 days she suffers under the weight of the Law (Lev. 15: 19-30, NIV), which states that not only is she unclean, but she also defiles anyone she touches. Can you imagine how dirty she felt? I bet it wasn’t long before she began to think, I am so filthy.

All these years, she has not been hugged or caressed or greeted with a kiss. Each time she sees children holding hands, her eyes well with tears as she remembers a time when she belonged, a time when she was known for more than just her disease. If she was ever invited to a table, I imagine she was kept at arm’s length. Maybe she had to sit alone. The loneliness must have cut deep grooves of throbbing pain in her soul.

I bet you, like me, have sat in your own mess, wondering when the suffering will stop. Will I ever be chosen? Will I ever have children? Will the financial rupturing ever end? What if I never have true friends?  How long, Lord?

Jewish Law kept her from entering the synagogue. But there was talk of a man who was healing people who were sick. This Jesus, I hear he even touched the unclean lepers. A flicker of hope must have formed in her.  What if he can help me?

 I bet hope is not the only whisper she heard. The enemy must have been there too, with his whispered  doubts and accusations. Do you really think that Jesus has time for you?  Stay away. You are an outcast. You don’t belong with anyone. Surely you have done something wrong and deserve to be where you are.

 I wonder what she went through to reach Jesus. I have been desperate for help–haven’t you? I cried out to Jesus after trying so many other ways to end my pain.

She may be weary, but she has ironclad resolve. I will do whatever it takes to find healing. For a woman who makes anyone unclean by touching them, she blazes with boldness as she presses into the crowd, pushing through the lies to reach the One who can bring her healing. Nearing him, she crouches down, reaching out her hand.

Jesus, who is on his way to help a child fighting for her life, stops abruptly.  He has felt the release of power as she touched the hem of his cloak. He asks, Who touched me? The disciples look around, scanning the crowd. Um, Lord, there are lots of people around you.

But Jesus searches with his heart. He peers the faces, looking for the one who has changed. She comes to him shaking with fear. I wonder what lies and doubts went through her mind in that moment. She falls to His feet and confesses.

Daughter.

Not the unclean one.

Daughter.

Not the woman who was bleeding for twelve years.

Daughter.

 Not Do you know the law? Who do you think you are?

 But Daughter, your faith has made you well.

Christ restores her dignity. She is no longer unclean because she pressed into the One who heals.

She will no longer have to seek crumbs under the table. She has a place at the table.

Christ addresses her lovingly, renews her identity. Christ made a point of stopping because she was worth stopping for. He extends his abundant grace and brings her from the fringes of society, from being ostracized, from being known by her disease and restores to her the name of daughter.

Where do you need healing? Where do you need restoration? Like the hemorrhaging woman, your faith can make you well. [Tweet “All you need to do is reach for Christ.”]

Terri Fullerton is a wife, mother, empty nester, and perpetual dog owner. She enjoys writing, reading, photography, hiking, traveling and collecting fossils. She values reflective questions and a dry sense of humor. She blogs at terrifullerton.com.