Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Take Heart

I have been reading in Matthew 9 about all the people that Jesus healed. I love to read Bible stories! I can read about Zaccheus and all of the sudden I am 5 years old again and sitting in my Sunday School class listening to my teacher sing about that 'wee little man'. One of my favorite Jesus stories is in Matthew 9 where He heals the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Can you imagine that? By law she was considered unclean for 12 years. She had to be an outcast-- someone who was lonely and desperate for healing. I daresay, she had not felt the touch of another human in 12 years (maybe more).

Jesus' first words to her were "Take heart" or "Take courage". How scared she must have been to touch Him, after all she wasn't supposed to be touching anyone because of her unclean state. Had someone known her condition and seen that she was about to touch Jesus, by law she could have been stoned to death. But Jesus saw her and told her to "Take heart" or don't be afraid.

There are so many parallels between our stories and this woman's story. For instance, she was unclean and touched the hem of His garment and was healed immediately. Weren't we unclean when we touched the hem of His garment and were healed? She was despised and rejected by her neighbors because of her unclean state, but she was accepted by Jesus. Doesn't that describe so many people's testimony of being an outcast and finally being accepted when they came to Christ?

The one thing that stands out to me in this three verse story is that her faith healed her. Jesus didn't say 'I have healed you' - yes, He did the healing, but He pointed out that her faith healed her. In other words, Jesus saw her huge level of faith and He honored it by healing her immediately. I wonder what works God could do in and through me if I had the faith this woman had. Faith and expectancy go hand in hand. If you have faith you expect things to happen -- this woman expected God to heal her. I wonder if the reason I don't always hear a word from God is because I don't expect Him to show up and speak to me? Maybe, just maybe, my low level of faith and expectancy is keeping me from hearing God whisper "Take heart, my daughter" .

7 comments:

Emmy said...

Thanks for your sweet comment and for stopping by! I LOVED reading what you had to say on your post! Thanks! I have been thinking about that woman a lot! They talked about her the first night of the conference...that her faith had healed her...and that Jesus longs to touch us as women and restore our hearts! We just need to allow Him access to those places that need to be touched! They asked the question, "What do we want to press through the crowd for?"
God Bless! Emmy : )

Fran said...

Ooooohhh...that was good Bethanne!!
Very very good. Lord, increase my faith.
blessings~

Renee said...

What an important thing to think about!! I know that my level of faith, and belief isn't where it should be. It's so hard to expect good things in this jaded world we live in. But there is an endless supply of good things just waiting for us, if we look for them, and believe that He can provide.

What a gift! Thank you!

Earen said...

I don't think our level of faith will ever be where it needs to be until we reach Home. But, what a great posting on striving towards that every day of our lives. I think our human "thinking" gets in the way of faith many times. Thank you for the great post...made me definitely think. Thanks also for your extremely encouraging comment on my post today...You're a sweet heart & it meant alot to me.

Alana said...

Oh, I am sure that I have missed out on many answers to prayer because of my lack of faith. I'm working on that!!

AbbyLane said...

love this...that story has come up a few time in my life in recent days through conversations with friends...

goodness my faith is so small sometimes!! it's rediculous!! after all He does to go out of His way and prove Himself faithful, and i still have the audacity to doubt His provision....
when He's not frustrated at me i'm sure He gets a good laugh out of my silly vain imaginations...mmm can't wait to hug Him..

I'm Tara. said...

Okay, girlfriend -- you just seriously hit a bloggy homerun with this one. What a great post!!

Faith and expectancy DO go hand in hand. Oh. My. Goodness. You just gave me a gift today, my friend. Thank you and may you be as blessed as you just made me.