Hey there, so I wanted to share a recent devotion with you. It comes from the book of Mark , chapter 5.
I don't know about you but there are moments or even days where I feel emotionally and physically drained. I am in such a need of renewal. Like you, I'm caught in the grind of everyday trying to find joy in the bits and pieces of time I have to myself. It can be exhausting! And then...
Yeah, hear that,, that huge breath building in your chest. Let it out!
Until I slow down and realize that my life doesn't have to be that complicated and that I need to take a closer look at what is trying to tie me down. No matter how good your intentions are if you schedule is zapping you, you need to zap your schedule. S.I.M.P.L.I.F.Y.
The world is really good in convincing us that we need more events, more people, more things, and just more. In this chaos we lose the opportunity for still quiet time with God. For me this year has been a difficult year for me in terms of some things coming to an end and things in the works. I've been in a lot of growth this year and with growing come pains. Not the Kirk Cameron kind.
So fix yourself some tea (sweet if your are southern) or coffee, and find a quiet place to check this out. This scripture really spoke to me.
Mark 5:21-34
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and hand 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 all these people crowding against you", said his disciples, "and yet you ask Who touched me?"
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your suffering."
Can we imagine a time in your life being so desperate that you would fight your way through a crowd as a sick woman of 12 years just to possibly see Jesus?
Desperate not for our own needs but just to be in the presence of Jesus.
STOP. REWIND. Let's check learn a little more about Jewish culture. Let's put things into context.
When this scripture was written, Jewish law prohibited women who were experiencing any bleeding whether menstrual or otherwise from leaving their homes. In fact they were considered UNCLEAN. Not just the woman considered UNCLEAN, but anything she TOUCHED. Her bed linens, towels,clothing, dishes, ...the hand she shook, the person who tried to give her comfort by a hug.....PEOPLE were all considered unclean.
Do you see where I am going with this?
Put yourself in the shoes of this woman. You've been fighting a terrible blood disorder. You are bleeding uncontrollably. The people in your village have little to do with you because they would be considered UNCLEAN. You are basically an outcast. You are forgotten. Everyone goes on about their daily life. It sucks to be you. But hey, you are unclean so I'm not going to take that chance
Sound like anyone you know? There are people hurting but instead we drive by or change the TV channel. This isn't a new concept.
She goes through 12 years of this. She is desperate. So you are this woman andyou hear that Jesus is coming to your village. You've heard all these miracles he has been performing around the area and the thought crosses your mind, maybe just maybe this could be your chance be healed, something..anything. ....
You try to make your way out into the crowd. You are careful at first because you are still trying to obey Jewish law. You are trying not to touch anyone else for fear of making them unclean and they you. But you can't help it. There are too many people and your eye catches Jesus. There he is. You have to get to him. So what do you do? You push, twist, turn, and eventually crawl beneath a crowd that despises you and has mistreated you for the past 12 years. You can't possibly care about the judgement if others! Jesus is right there, He is there you can almost touch Him but the crowd continues to push!
The closest thing to you is his cloak.
Desperate. Hurting. Tired of the ridicule. Tired of the pain. Just wanting to feel normal again. Just wanting to feel love.
YOU REACH. YOU TOUCH.
When you touch you experience a jolt. You feel the power of the Son of God. You are healed instantly. The bleeding has stopped! You feel it! Jesus is right there and you touched him!
And then you realize, well if I felt it then he must have felt it too? What do you do? Do you pretend like it wasn't you?
You are healed now just go on about your business. He will never know it is you in this crowd right?
And then Jesus says into the crowd. "WHO TOUCHED ME?"
The crowd is quiet and everything stops. The disciples wonder who and what Jesus is talking about. You are crazy Jesus, this place is packed! How could you not feel someone touching you?! But then you can feel inside the healing that has happened to you and the only thing you can do, the only response you have is to fall at the feet of Jesus. You still aren't sure if you did the right thing, everyone is starring at you. You are busted. You've admitted it now. So you tell him the truth. "If only I could just touch you, maybe this would all go away." The place is silent.
Until you hear, "Daughter your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your suffering."
If you aren't crying now, nothing can help you but a good Hallmark movie! Come on. You've got Jesus in the middle of everybody fighting for his attention, you've got a woman in pain for over a decade DESPERATE who just wanted one touch. Someone to touch or to touch her after 12 years of no physical contact because of the label given to her because of Jewish law.
When have you been so DESPERATE for Jesus that you went against anyone and everyone in your circle or community against their advice their laws, their opinions and said.."I AM HURTING. I just need to touch him."
I say this to you as much as I am repeating it to myself. .......
Etch this on your hearts- God wants us to reach out. To seek Him above all things, above all people. You are unsure of life's next turn? Ok! Reach out.. You aren't sure about that relationship? No problem! Touch his cloak.
The best part of this entire set of scripture to me is this, Mark 5:32 "But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it" To me it speaks to us about the heart of Jesus, he felt someone and whoever it was he was going to seek her out. "Who in this crowd just wanted to touch me?" Thinking I'm sure that there was something different about that touch, it came with pain and suffering. Whoever touched me had faith enough to reach out.
Be desperate enough to reach.
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