Devotional | From Depleted to Dependent

From Depleted to Dependent:

Mark 5 verses 25 -34 ( NIV )

Mark 5 v. 27- When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought,  “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

The whole idea of the Holy Spirit drawing us to Himself has always fascinated me. When I look at John 15 v 16 (NIV) I read “You didn’t choose me but I chose you, to bear fruit, fruit that would last”. There was a strange invisible yearning within me to seek Jesus.   I’ve always thought it was my idea and not His.

By comparison, in  Mark 5,  we read of an example of a woman who had had an issue of blood for 12 years. Was she also being drawn by the Holy Spirit to seek Jesus and His power to heal her?  12 years was a long time to be seeking healing.

What about you? Do you have a long standing problem that just wont go away? Maybe you have spent all you have, desperate for relief and healing.

Mark 5 v  26. This unnamed woman was tired of being under the control of this worsening personal problem. Gone was all her money in a quest to be healed.  She was over the man-made rules of being isolated, excluded and being seen as unclean and untouchable.

It was time for the Untouchable to touch. This woman was determined she was not going to remain under the control of the problem any longer. It was time to activate her faith. She chose to reach out and touch the hem of Jesus’s garment. 

Mark 5  verse 28-(Amplified)  For she KEPT saying, If I only touch his garments, I shall be restored to health. She was declaring, again and again, the result she had faith for.

What  about you? What do YOU keep saying?

Something deep within her was stirring her to press through the crowd. Her faith and trust in who Jesus  was and what He could do for her was rising.  Her faith propelled her past the men, customs and traditions of the untouchable communities.  Coming up behind Jesus, she touched his cloak with no fear of contaminating Him. This type of faith is very attractive to Jesus.

Mark 5 v. 30- Jesus turned around and looked for her and in verse 32, he kept looking for her. This one mattered to Him. Her faith had  put a demand on His power to heal and he had felt the power leave his body.

Will you dare to believe?

Could this all be the drawing work of the Holy Spirit to visit this woman, on this day, at this time, because He was drawn to her faith? Mark 5 verse 34 (The Passion Translation) “ Daughter, because you DARED TO BELIEVE, your faith has healed you. Go with peace in your heart, and be free from your suffering!”

Faith had won the day.  Faith told her it was time to do something different and touch the hem of the cloak of the Great Physician, her new Dr.  She had put her hunger for healing, on display.

Today, this same Jesus remains attracted to our faith. He’s looking for you and keeps looking for you. Jesus sees your faith. He calls you Daughter/Son as He calls out your true identity. He wants to hear what you have to say.   By faith, she testified to Jesus and the crowd.  And so can you.

No longer depleted and now dependent on Jesus.  It was so worth it to dare to believe. What a glorious day!