Reaching - by Bec Bonython
A woman on the fringes of the crowd decided to seize her opportunity. Weak from the loss of blood – perpetual flow from her womb that left her little strength to spare – and habitually pushed to the periphery of society, she had little chance ever to reach Jesus again. With everyone’s attention focused on the leader, she crouched low and crawled between the bodies to steal a touch.
As she stretched out her hand, Jesus moved and the crush closed around Him again, but a last, desperate lunge, allowed her fingers to graze the hem of His robe. And that’s when she felt it. A tingling rush of vitality. A warm glow from the centre of her body that radiated to each limb and cause her face to glow. And most important of all, no more blood seeping from her body. Healed at least. A dozen years of chronic anaemia and baffled doctors and disapproving neighbours….ended
Jesus felt the surge of healing power too. He whirled around with startling speed and asked, “Who touched My garments?” His disciples looked at one another and then their master. “Lord, You must be joking! With all of these people pushing and grabbing, who hasn’t touched You?”
Jesus remained stone-still, peering through the cluster of legs at a trembling figure lying on the ground. One by one, each person moved out of His line of sight and followed His gaze until no one stood between them. With her face to the ground, the woman explained everything. How she had suffered for so long, how she tried in vain to reach Him through the crowd, how she knew beyond any doubt that one touch from Him would make her whole.
“Daughter, take courage.”
She raised her head to meet His eyes and found His expression filled with gentleness.
“Your faith has made you well.”
~~~~~
What faith! This is an extract from Charles Swindoll’s book – Jesus, The Greatest Life Of All. As I read this portion of his book, it really touched and challenged my heart.
So desperate was this woman, she knew that if she just touched His garment, she would be healed.
How desperate are we for the touch of God in our lives? Really. Truly. Are we willing to crawl on the ground and get ourselves dirty to receive God’s touch in our lives? Are we willing to step out of our comfort zone and do something we’ve not done before? Are we prepared to position ourselves in a seemingly awkward or embarrassing or vulnerable positions, just so that Jesus might be glorified?
This woman didn’t care what the people thought, she didn’t care that they knocked her around. She didn’t care that she was lying on the ground to reach Him – and, for that matter, neither did Jesus! In fact, He rewarded it!
Jesus just asks us to have faith. Faith requires a surrendering and submission of our thoughts and wants, and instead pivots our attitude to say “Jesus, whatever you ask me to do, I will do. I put my trust in you.”
Today, how desperate are you?