There’s a popular story in the Bible of ‘the woman with the issue of blood’ that was healed by Jesus. I’ll break down the story in a few, but first, I want you to know why her story is relevant to yours. I believe that in some way, we all need to be healed. Since nobody is perfect, there’s something in us, whether we want to admit it or not, that’s broken. Something inside of all of us, regardless of age, race, nationality, years in God, etc., needs to be healed so that we can be better people. There are literally billions of people walking around with trust issues, low self esteem, physical illnesses, mental illnesses, etc., and in one way or another, we all contribute to that number. So, step one in this process: what in you needs to be healed? Well, whatever it is, I’m here to tell you that regardless of how long you’ve suffered or where the pain is, there’s healing…in His hem.
It’s story time saints! So, according to Mark 5, Jesus has recently healed a man that was possessed by demons, traveled to Capernaum, and is currently surrounded by a loooooooot of people. He’s asked to heal a man’s daughter (who’s about to die), agrees, and heads towards the man’s house. Being a dedicated (and possibly nosy or really intrigued) multitude, the massive crowd of people follow Jesus, and basically stop him in his tracks (or reallllllly slow down his speed). Got the picture? Can you see it? Jesus…surrounded by a massive, MASSIVE group of people? Now, look lower in that picture that you’ve created, and you’ll find a woman, on her hands and knees, crawling through the crowd, trying to get to Jesus. This woman is probably in pain, she’s broke, she’s incredibly tired, but she’s mumbling...something: “if I could only touch His clothes….” She’s trying to avoid getting trampled (or being seen, because she’s not considered “clean"), but she’s still moving because she’s on a mission. She finally makes it. She’s behind Jesus (still on her hands & knees), and with what could’ve been her last ounce of strength, she reaches out, and touches the hem of Jesus’ clothes.
​Immediately, she’s healed. She can feel it, and so did Jesus. He turns around & asks “who touched me?” His disciples think he’s lost it (or trying to be funny), and point out that he’s literally surrounded by a multitude (sir, everybody is touching you). Jesus continues to look for the woman, because He wants to see her, and give her a small piece of info. The woman comes out of the crowd, falls at his feet, and revealed herself as the person that touched Him (without anybody’s permission). She’s terrified, but Jesus looks at her, and says “daughter, your faith has made you well. Go…and be healed of your affliction.” How….cool….is….THAT?! There are a few things about this story that I think we all need to grasp, understand, and apply to our own lives…now. What are they? GLAD YOU ASKED YOU INQUISITIVE SOUL! (I’m excited; prepare yourself haha)
People fail. This woman had been bleeding for 12 years. TWELVE YEARS of continuous bleeding. She’d been to multiple doctors, none of them could cure her. I like to believe that they did all that they could, and that (at least some of them) did care and want to help her, but none of them could fix it. She’d probably taken multiple medicines, and none of them worked long term (if at all). She’d invested all the money that she had into this illness, and despite all of the money, doctor visits, and medications, she got worse. Do you know what that’s like? To invest all that you have into something (or somebody), and the situation get worse? Now, I’m all for doctors (PLEASE GO TO THE DOCTOR SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH), but sometimes in general, it’s those that you hope will heal you that worsen the wounds. Some of the pain we’ve experienced is because we continuously gave ourselves to people, hoping that they would heal us, and ended up in more pain because they failed. We needed them to fix something we refused to reveal, or something that we did reveal, that they ended up abusing. This woman’s healing wasn’t in a doctor’s office or in man’s hands; it was in the hem of Christ, and the same is true for all of us. People in & of themselves can’t heal that wound, suga. Christ may use people to heal, but please know that the person is never perfect, and that your true healing is in His hem.
Secret of solitude. This story has an interesting and beautiful aspect of solitude and privacy woven into it. When this woman was healed, she knew it, and Jesus knew it, but nobody else could tell. She felt it. He felt it. That was it. The disciples thought Jesus was insane when He asked who touched Him, because they couldn’t feel what she felt. Jesus is surrounded by people, and He felt it when she touched Him. Oh to touch Jesus, and for Him to feel something different, something that separates you from anybody else at your church, in your family, etc. I believe that this verse shows us, among many other things, that somethings are healed in private. Everybody can’t be the miracle on the alter this Sunday. We can’t all walk in with crutches or in wheelchairs & walk out completely healed. Some issues, some bruises, some wounds, need to be healed in private, because it’s in that silence and solitude that God can deal with us like we need to. We’re not looking around, or wondering if we left the lights on. We’re focused, and most importantly, we’re submitted at His feet. We’re not trying to be something we’re not; we’re on the ground….at His hem.
Are you committed? I think that it’s incredibly important to realize that this woman had to have a high level of determination to get to her healing. Think about it. There’s a looooooot of people out there, all pushing & shoving trying to get to Jesus & see if He’s all they’ve heard He is. Meanwhile, she’s on the ground (in the dirt, because they didn’t have pavement back then) trying to avoid being seen. Crawling….through all of these people….to get to the hem of Jesus. She wasn’t even trying to see His face. She crawled through people to get to the bottom of His garment. She had to be dedicated and determined to get her healing. It didn’t come easy. She had to take a risk. She had to be committed. Are you committed to being healed? Do you really want it? Or does it just sound nice? Honesty serves you well here, because it displays your faith, and that’s what changed this woman’s life. Note, Jesus never said “my hem made you whole”; He said that her faith did. The hem was the destination, but her faith got her there. Suga, you can’t get to the destination if you’re not willing to take the journey. However, it’s not just her faith, it’s who she put her faith in. You can fully believe that if you touch the hem of my jeans that your life will be changed. You can do all that you can to get to my little jeans, touch the hem, and hold on (if I don’t kick you out of pure reflex lol). Guess what you’ll feel? NOTHING! Putting faith in me, or anybody else on this planet, won’t get you what you need. So, please know that it’s not just commitment, but where you place your faith.
He’s not scared of your scars. When everybody else was too scared to touch this woman, Jesus wasn’t. When everybody was too religious too touch her, because she was deemed ‘unclean’, Jesus touched her, and made her whole. Wherever you are, whatever you’ve done, please know that Jesus is not afraid to touch you. He’s not afraid to touch your wounds. He’s not afraid to touch those things in you that you dare not show to anybody else. Actually, He won’t just touch them, He’ll heal them, because He does in fact care about your well being. If you reach out to Him, I guarantee that He’ll reach out to you (I’ve tested that theory for myself…it works).
He’s looking for you (v.32). One of my favorite facts in this story is the fact that Jesus looked for her. She could’ve easily touched the hem, back up, and go home. He could’ve easily felt the power leave Him, and continued to make His way to the dying daughter (that He was actually asked to heal). However, this story doesn’t work like that. Despite the fact that the disciples thought Jesus was insane, He looked for her. Nobody else bothered to recognize her, she didn’t fit in, and He looked for her. He waited on her to reveal herself. Guess what? He’s looking for you too. He’s waiting on you to come out of the crowd. He’s waiting on you to fulfill your purpose. Don’t feel like you’re fit for it? Don’t feel like you deserve that kind of attention? Feel like you’ve made it to a level you don’t deserve to be on? So did she. After Jesus started looking for her, she came out from the crowd literally acting like she’d stolen something. She was scared and shaking, telling Him what she’d done. When she’d finished, Jesus didn’t condemn her for taking something (she may have thought was) meant for somebody else; He confirmed her. He told her that she was healed, and released her into a new level of freedom. That’s grace. That’s mercy. That’s love. That’s….BEYOND AMAZING. He looked for her, confirmed her healing (just in case she thought she was tripping), and sent her on her way. Isn’t it amazing that even today, God gives us things that we don’t think we deserve? Oh I could go forth all by myself right there!!!…but you’ve been reading for a minute, so I’ll wrap this up (haha).
Finally, I want to bring the fact that to a certain extent (in my mind), this woman set a precedent. She’s like…a trendsetting healing. In the next chapter (Mark 6:56 to be exact), Jesus is in a totally different city, and people swarm Him…asking to touch the hem of his garment. Unless I’ve missed something (if I have, PLEASE let me know), nobody bothered to touch Jesus’ hem before this woman did. If they did, it didn’t get printed. Because she dared to reach for hem, she played a part in somebody else getting their healing. Her submission in faith, her act of going to Jesus’ feet before reaching for His hand, led other people to the feet of Jesus. Her faith sparked the faith of others. Do you think she thought she had that much power? I doubt it. The same is true for us though. You’d be surprised by the amount of power that God has put in your testimony, and the strength others can gain from your storm. So, if I had to end this in a specific way, I’d say: get out there, tell somebody, and show them where their healing is.