Healer
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."
(Psalms 103:2-5)
Imagine. Just imagine for a moment, what it would have
been like to have been one of the lepers that Jesus completely, instantly
healed with just a word. -Or perhaps the blind man, who had lived all his life
as a beggar when Jesus took compassion on him and healed him. All the struggles
of life are turned in an instant in to joy. God is the Great Physician; he
heals all our diseases.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is that of the
woman who had an issue of blood. Nothing much is said about her background, and
she isn’t very prominent. In fact, her story is squeezed almost awkwardly in
the middle of another healing miracle. It leaves much to the imagination...
Twelve years of questions without answers. Twelve years
of living as simply as possible, in order to pay for doctor bills. Twelve years
of people avoiding you (their culture, sickness meant isolation). Here is a
woman who has travelled extensively to specialized doctors, and no one can help
her. I can imagine the feeling of helplessness, frustration, and degradation.
And yet, she did not give up hope. She kept searching.
Looking. Hoping.
Eventually, rumors reach her about a Man who has healed
many with just a word. Hope surges in her innermost being. THIS is the answer.
He could heal her. There was no doubt in her mind that this Man could do it,
just that perhaps He would not want
to heal her.
She hears that this Man, named Jesus, is passing through
nearby. Without thinking about arranging
her affairs, she leaves her home in a hurry to catch Him. The question lingering
in her mind, Would Jesus want to heal her?
After a day of travel, she reached the town where He had been reported
healing, and asked where Jesus was. The
people told her she had missed Him. He had hurried off to heal the daughter of
a great ruler. However, if she hurried, she might be able to overtake Him.
The woman’s heart sank. She had nothing to offer Jesus
such as the ruler would have. All her resources had been spent seeing doctors
who had deemed her a helpless cause. To go home and sell things to be able to
pay Jesus would take several days, and she might miss Him all together. She
slept restlessly on the street that night, waiting for morning to dawn.
As the sun was just peeking over the horizon, she trudged
slowly out of town. Her energy was waning. Her hope was faltering, but still
alive. This Jesus had unordinary power to heal. No witchcraft. No strange
rituals. No potions. -Just a single word. Everyone who saw Him work glorified
God. As she thought about all she’d
heard, her steps lightened, and her energy came back in force. If this man came
from God, He would not need her gift or compensation!
The day dragged on, and just as she began to wonder if
this trip too would end in vain, she saw a large crowd of people in the distance.
Could this crowd be following Jesus? Hope surged in her heart, and it took all
her remaining energy to run toward the crowd.
Once again she faced an obstacle. How would she get to
Jesus? He chatted with His disciples, and they were quite a number. The last
thing she wished to do was interrupt Him. At last, she knew. This Man had such
authority, that if she could only touch His garment, she would doubtless be
healed. She pushed herself through the crowd as politely as she could, until
she reached an inseparable wall of people. Reaching her hand through the people,
she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.
Immediately, she felt strength return to her body.
Instant healing!
The rest is recorded in Scripture. Jesus knew someone had
touched His garment because He felt virtue leave His body. Then He told
her that her faith made her whole. (ref.
Matthew 9:20-22, Luke 8:43-48)
What a story! God heals. Not to receive money, but to
glorify the Father. Not because we DO anything, but through FAITH in Him.
That’s just how Powerful our God is. He has such
authority, that our mere faith in Him, brings healing. -Not because our faith,
but because HE IS SO GREAT! What a mighty God we serve!
She only touched the hem of His garment
As to His side she stole,Amid the crowd that gathered around Him,And straightway she was whole.Oh, touch the hem of His garment!And thou, too, shalt be free!His saving power this very hourShall give new life to thee!~George F. Root~
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