Everyone Needs a Miracle

A large crowd followed Jesus and pushed very close around Him. Among them was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered very much from many doctors and had spent all the money she had, but instead of improving, she was getting worse. — Mark 5:24–26 NCV

She was a bruised reed. “Bleeding for twelve years.” “Suffered very much.” “Spent all the money she had.” 

“Getting worse.” A chronic menstrual disorder. A perpetual issue of blood. Such a condition would be difficult for any woman of any era. But for a Jewish woman, nothing could be worse. No part of her life was left unaffected.

Sexually... she could not touch her husband.

Maternally... she could not bear children.

Domestically... anything she touched was considered unclean. No washing dishes. No sweeping floors.

Spiritually... she was not allowed to enter the temple.

She was physically exhausted and socially ostracized. She had sought help “under the care of many doctors” (verse 26). The Talmud gives no fewer than eleven cures for such a condition. No doubt she had tried them all. Some were legitimate treatments. Others, such as carrying the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen cloth, were hollow superstitions.

She “had spent all she had” (verse 26). To dump financial strain on top of the physical strain is to add insult to injury. A friend battling cancer told me the hounding of the creditors who demand payments for ongoing medical treatment is just as devastating as the pain.

But “instead of getting better she grew worse” (verse 26). She was a bruised reed. She awoke daily in a body that no one wanted. She was down to her last prayer. And on the day we encounter her, she was about to pray it.

By the time she got to Jesus, He was surrounded by people. He was on His way to help the daughter of Jairus, the most important man in the community. What were the odds that He would interrupt an urgent mission with a high official to help the likes of her? Very few. But what were the odds that she would survive if she didn’t take a chance? Fewer still.

So she takes a chance. “If I just touch His clothes,” she thinks, “I will be healed” (verse 28).

Risky decision. To touch Him, she will have to touch the people. If one of them recognizes her... hello rebuke, goodbye cure. But what choice does she have? She has no money, no clout, no friends, no solutions. All she has is a crazy hunch that Jesus can help and a high hope that He will. Maybe that’s all you have: a crazy hunch and a high hope. You have nothing to give. But you are hurting. And all you have to offer Him is your hurt. Maybe that has kept you from coming to God. Oh, you’ve taken a step or two in His direction. But then you saw the other people around Him. They seemed so clean, so neat, so fit in their faith. And when you saw them, they blocked your view of Him. So you stepped back.

If that describes you, note carefully, only one person was commended that day for having faith. It wasn’t a wealthy giver. It wasn’t a loyal follower. It wasn’t an acclaimed teacher. It was a shame-struck, penniless outcast who clutched onto her hunch that He could and her hope that He would.

Which, by the way, isn’t a bad definition of faith: a conviction that He can and a hope that He will. Sounds similar to the definition of faith given by the Bible. 

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. — Hebrews 11:6

Not too complicated, is it? Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good. Faith is not a mystical experience or a midnight vision or a voice in the forest... it is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn’t left it all and that he still sends light into shadows and responds to gestures of faith.

There was no guarantee, of course. She hoped He’d respond... she longed for it... but she didn’t know if he would. All she knew was that he was there and that he was good. That’s faith. Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.

• Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.

Blessed are the dirt-poor, nothing-to-give, trapped-in-a-corner, destitute, diseased,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:6, my paraphrase). God’s economy is upside down (or right-side up and ours is upside down!). God says that the more hopeless your circumstance, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers.

A healthy lady never would have appreciated the power of a touch of the hem of His robe. But this woman was sick, and when her dilemma met his dedication, a miracle occurred. Her part in the healing was very small. All she did was extend her arm through the crowd. “If only I can touch Him.” 

Revisit the library gallery for a moment to see how the artist creatively portrays this story in the same pattern of a two-part series. The artist’s brush has captured a woman in midair, jumping from one side of a canyon to another. Her clothes are ragged. Her body is frail, and her skin is pale. She looks anemic. Her eyes are desperate as she reaches for the canyon wall with both hands. On the ledge is a man. All you see are his legs, sandals, and the hem of a robe. Beneath the painting are the woman’s words, “If Only...”

You step quickly to see the next scene. She is standing now. The ground beneath her bare feet is solid.

Her face flushes with life. Her cautious eyes look up at the half-moon of people that surround her. Standing beside her is the one she sought to touch. The caption? His words. “Take Heart...”

God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it. Nothing results from apathy. The great work in this story is the mighty healing that occurred. But the great truth is that the healing began with her touch. And with that small, courageous gesture, she experienced Jesus’ tender power. 

• Sometimes, all that you have to offer to God is your hurt.
• Faith is a conviction that Jesus can and a hope that He will.
• Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good.
• God’s help is near and always available to those who seek it.

Memory Verse

2 Corinthians 12:9

The Heart of Jesus

The rumors had been flying for months now. Some people said that this wandering rabbi from Nazareth was a prophet. Some said He was a political reformer. But the greatest interest was roused by the rumors that this man could heal. The blind, the lame, the deaf, the diseased — all claimed to have been made whole by His touch. There were wilder stories of demons being cast out and the dead coming to life again. It was surely too good to be true, but the glimmer of hope was too much for the hurting ones to ignore. So wherever Jesus went, the seekers followed. They brought Him all their sick. They begged Him to let them touch just the edge of His coat. The weak and the needy longed to experience the power of Jesus. 

Excerpted with permission from Experiencing the Heart of Jesus by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.

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Your Turn

Lord, inspire that same kind of desperation for You. We need You! Come share your thoughts. We want to hear from you!