“For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”Immediately … she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5:28-34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If only … two words that hold no meaning alone, yet next to each other, they are words I’ve uttered in times of regret and in times of desperation. 

The woman with this issue of blood is one of my favorite stories in the gospels. She had suffered for 12 years. She spent all of her money and suffered many things at the hands of her doctors. She was surely desperate. All hope was gone when we heard of Yeshua. He was her last hope. 

Can you imagine the desperation that propelled her forward? Can you picture her on her knees, crawling, leaning, reaching for Him? Pressing through the crowd, probably a moth full of dust, when she finally broke through and was able to touch His clothes. That single touch changed everything. She was healed. Her life transformed. One encounter. One single touch. Incredible. 

When we visited Israel, Magdala was the biggest surprise. It was the city where this scene would have taken place. As we sat in an area designed for quiet reflection, I stared up at the painting pictured here and wondered about the woman – both the desperation that drove her to reach out for healing just one more time and curiosity about what happened next for her. Was she restored in other ways as well? I want to believe so. 

My struggle hasn’t made the 12 year mark, and I haven’t suffered to the extent she did. But many of us know what it is to pray and believe for years and years to be completely healed. May her story, which has stood through the ages as a testimony of faith, inspire us to keep leaning and pressing towards Him. Don’t give up. If only we can touch Him, we will be healed.

Father – thank You for Your Word and for hope. Give me faith to press on and press in. I look to You for complete healing and restoration. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen. 

Daily Reading: Mark 4-5, Matthew 8:14-34

October 15, 2022