Reach for Healing

Luke 8: 43-48

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

Everyone denied it, and Peter said,” Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees before him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

There is a painting by Simon Dewey depicting this scene from the New Testament. In this painting, you see the lower half of Jesus, wearing white robes and brown sandals, walking ahead of a number of people. You see the hands of several of these people – some hanging by their sides, others appearing to reach downward, toward a woman lying on the ground behind Jesus; a look of longing and of pure desperation on her face as she reaches for the fringe of Jesus’ robes before he takes one step further away.

You can see it on her face, within her grasp –

I am about to be healed.

For me, the beauty of this image is that I know the desperation this woman has faced. All of my hope, all of my pain, all of my desire is captured beautifully on the face of this woman. There is a definitive desperation that belongs to a woman who is trying to get pregnant. Longing for a child is one of the loneliest feelings I have ever faced. Every single month, every single day, every single breath – the desperation can be consuming to a suffocating end. I see myself as this woman, faced with a longing to be healed – with the belief that if I just tried hard enough, if I just reached far enough, if I could somehow grasp the robes of Jesus, I could be blessed, my body could be healed – I will be blessed with a child.

The reality for this woman is that she was, in fact, healed. Jesus said, “I felt healing power go out from me.” This woman’s powerful faith actually touched Jesus as she reached to him with all that her body could physically allow.  This woman had risen above mere hope, she had passed the point of thinking such thoughts as maybe… possibly… I hope…She was literally reaching to Christ with the absolute knowledge that Jesus Christ was her Savior and that he was there to heal HER.

You have this faith within you dear sisters. Through the frustrating and disappointing ends of every two week wait, through the heartbreaking phone calls from doctors, through the darkness, anger and defeat of a miscarriage, you still have your faith. You still have your strength. You still have that sheer determination to reach out and touch the very essence of healing through every prayer said with your hands lifted high, your face turned upward in a desperate plea – reaching up to touch the robes of Jesus.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ~ Mark 11:24

Believe this.

The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. ~ Psalm 6:9

Believe this.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ~ John 15:7

Believe this.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ~ Matthew 7:7-8

Believe this.