Desperately Seeking

“For she said, ‘If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.”—Mark 5:28

It is amazing how strong faith becomes when there is nowhere else to turn. There is no action too great, no cry too loud, no distance too far for the one who has faith. Faith sees the unseen and will do the unimaginable to have its desired goal. God has a way of building faith in us. He gradually weans us off the comfortable crutches of this world that so often prop us up, causing us to solely depend upon Him.

The woman in today’s passage had been bleeding for twelve long years. She had suffered much. Sure, there was the physical toil that was difficult, but there was much more. There was the emotional roller coaster that soared between hopefulness and helplessness with each passing doctor. One doctor would promise a cure causing her to soar to the apex of hope. But then reality hits and the supposed cure results in colossal failure, leaving her with a greater sense of hopelessness and a depleted bank account.

Physical pain was one thing, but her illness rendered her ceremonially unclean (cf. Leviticus 15:25-28). This meant she was not allowed to enter the temple section reserved for Jewish women, nor was she permitted to be in public without letting people know that she was unclean. Imagine for a moment having to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” every time you got near your family or your friends, and then watching their faces as they desperately tried to get away from you. It was nerve-racking. To feel unwanted by family and friends, as well as be rejected by the people of your faith must have been an overwhelming burden to bear. She was desperate and had nowhere else to turn. That is, until she heard about Jesus of Nazareth arriving nearby.

Jesus could heal. At least, that’s what she heard. There were no medicines, no farfetched cures, and no dubious remedies. He could heal her just by a word. Imagine that! He could heal her by a word! But how would she ask Him? Was it too good to be true? Wait, if He said “no,” what would she do then? She couldn’t handle another disappointment. But this time, something was different. If He could heal her by a word, then maybe, just touching Him, would heal her. If He was powerful enough to heal someone by saying something, then it couldn’t be that hard for her to be healed by just touching Him.

She made her way to where He was. There was a crowd around Him that appeared to be moving. It was now or never. She worked her way through the crowd one by one until she reached Him. She was right behind Him. Now was her chance. She reached out and grabbed His garment. Maybe He wouldn’t notice with all of the people pressing against Him. As soon as her hand gripped the tunic, she felt the blood dry up inside her. She was healed!

Jesus turned around and said, “Who touched My garments?” What would she do? What would she say? Considering the mass of people crowding around Him, His disciples couldn’t believe that He knew that someone intentionally touched Him. But He did. And she knew that if just touching His garment healed her, then He could easily identify her as the one who touched Him. She stepped forward, afraid. She broke down, fell to the ground, and told Him the whole truth. Jesus responded, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease"—Mark 5:34.

God honors desperate faith—faith that has nothing else but God as its focus. And for the believer in Christ, God desires to grow our faith. He wants us to come desperately seeking, drawing near to Him believing “that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him”—Hebrews 11:6.

Are you at the point of desperately seeking Him yet? Or are you depending on yourself? Are you walking by faith? Or are you still walking by sight? Ask God to give you the faith necessary to come to Him desperately, expectant that He will do “far abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20) and knowing that when you do, He will show Himself to be God on your behalf, bringing His name glory “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:21). Amen.