Required to watch her husband and children from a distance, she could not be a proper wife or mother. She could not touch them or cook for them because if they ate the food, they would become unclean. She would have watched her children grow up without straightening their clothes, soothing their cuts and scratches, picking them up, holding them, or kissing them good night.
Although society and the religious system ostracized her, she was not going to agree with them. She rejected the notion of fate.
Many of you feel this woman’s isolation. Different situations have caused you to feel pushed aside. Perhaps someone has told you, or implied, that you cannot be a part of what God wants to do.
You, too, must reject fate. Jesus said to this woman, “You took a risk of faith.” In so doing, she shook off the shackles of bondage to sickness and tradition. By taking three steps, this woman affirmed what she believed and laid the groundwork for her deliverance.
Faith Is An Act
These three simple, truth-affirming steps took this woman’s life and faith to another level: She heard, she came, and she touched.
She heard about Jesus. Perhaps she heard that He was the one who turned water into wine. Maybe she knew that Jesus delivered people from demons, healed a nobleman’s son, a paralyzed man and Peter’s mother-in-law.
Imagine this woman, walking down the road one day, just shaking her head and thinking: If only I could meet this man. If only I had an opportunity. Maybe my body could be healed. Maybe I could break out of this situation. Maybe Jesus could reverse this curse and do something in my life.
And then she hears the shuffling feet of a crowd approaching. Stepping aside because of her condition, she hears someone say, “Jesus! Jesus is coming to our village. It’s Jesus!”
In her excitement, she may have remembered the things she’d heard about Jesus. We all need to remember the promises of God in His Word. He promises He would not leave His people in sickness or sin, or abandon them in their condition, leaving them in the bondage of Satan.
She must have reasoned that God and His Word could not be separated. As she’s walking, she possibly recalls the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “‘But I will restore health to you and heal your wounds”‘ (Jer. 30:17, NIV). Suddenly, faith began to rise deep inside her heart. She knew there was no disability or circumstance in her life that was impossible for God to touch.
Faith in her heart said, “There has to be a way out—a breakthrough, a solution—because I do not believe that God can love me and then sentence me to misery and bondage. He is not that kind of God.”
The apostle Paul wrote: “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It’s time for us to hear the Word of the Lord, too. It’s time for our faith to arise.
Because God and His Word are aligned, we are going to see breakthroughs. God has given us power and authority over Satan, over the spirit of infirmity and every problem that comes our way.
The outcast, as she was known, believed Jesus could transform her circumstances. And with faith arising in her heart, she believed He would. Jesus said, “‘The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out'” (John 6:37, NKJV). Her healing began with her hearing, and based on what she heard, she took the second step toward complete restoration.
She came to Jesus. In fact, she could not stay away. Despite being told by her culture that she was an outcast, an unclean woman, she chose to come to Him. She dared to believe that the God of heaven and Earth could alter her situation, and that she would no longer be bound by circumstances, by society, or religious laws and traditions.
Coming to Jesus required, as The Message says, “a risk of faith.” She put her faith into action and dared to believe that when she came, she would not be rejected.
Faith led her to brave the crowd and come against the social and religious constraints of her day. She broke away from everything and followed what she knew God would honor—her faith.
When Jesus told the woman in Mark 5:34, “‘You’re healed and whole,'” the Greek word for “healed” is sozo, which means a number of things, including “saved.” He told her that there was more than physical healing available to her. There was also wholeness, provision and restoration.
When you prayed the sinner’s prayer and stepped into the kingdom of God, you believed that God made you whole—body, soul and spirit. You took a risk of faith. The faith you needed for salvation is the same faith you need for deliverance and healing. Believe for your total restoration because God hears your prayers, forgives sins and saves completely.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.