Reaching Out And Trusting Jesus

“For she said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.’ But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, ‘Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that hour.” (Matthew 9:21-22)

I believe that every word in the Bible is the inspired word of God. I also believe all those parables and stories have a purpose to them. Each one of them has an important message – a spiritual truth – that we can take and apply to the personal situations that we confront in life. That’s why the Bible continues to outsell any other book in the world. Truth has a way of prevailing even in a world that seems to be getting darker with time.

This particular story has been a real source of comfort for many of us. The spiritual truth it carries is for all believers. It’s written to remind us where to look when all the options seem to be exhausted. In truth, hope is never lost for those who have Christ – we just have to reach out and trust him.

Here’s a woman who had uncontrollable, chronic bleeding that had plagued her for twelve years. But the bleeding was not just a source of embarrassment for her. A chronic loss of blood over that period of time would have also made her physically weak. Today’s doctor would probably diagnose her illness as anemia. To add insult to injury, this problem complicated the relationships with her family and friends. In fact, we know that Jewish culture in her day labeled her as “unclean”. They also believed that everything she touched would also become ceremonially unclean. Long story short, she was shunned by everyone, including her own family.

This woman had spent every dollar she had on doctors only to ultimately learn that she was hopelessly incurable. So when she heard that Jesus was passing by, she was desperate and willing to do anything to find a cure.

Who knows what was really wrong with her. Frankly it’s really not important. The lesson here is not what was wrong with her or even that she was healed. The point of even having this story in the Bible here is to show us how you can use faith to overcome what you do not understand.

We all confront issues in life that we cannot overcome. While they are not always life-threatening, they will always be life-changing. As such, they represent opportunities for spiritual growth. In this case, this woman believed so much that Jesus could heal her, she forced her way through the crowd as he approached. “If only I may touch his garment,” she said to herself, “I shall be made well.” (Matthew 9:21) Notice here that she didn’t say maybe, she said shall. She knew that faith in Jesus would solve what doctors and an endless supply of money could never solve.

That’s the lesson we should take from this story. When crisis comes our way, we always seem to look for answers in the wrong places. Perhaps we should rely first on our faith instead of using it as a last resort. That’s what Jesus meant when he said to Thomas, “Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)