O let the Son of God enfold you with His Spirit and His love;
let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul
O let Him have the things that hold you, and His Spirit, like a dove,
will descend upon your life & make you whole.
(John Wimber © 1979 Mercy Publishing)
Thank God for his love and care
How brave are you? Do you remember as children being dared to do something? - or even someone saying “I double dare you…” We may still find this phrase coming into our minds as we face doing something new, or something we have found difficult to do previously. In today’s bible reading we encounter a woman who I’m sure has to ‘dare’ herself to do what she did. Read Luke 8: 40-48
Our bible reading told us that this woman had been suffering this illness for 12 years – but there was more than the physical symptoms for her to cope with, her illness would have isolated her from the rest of her community – she would be seen as unclean. She wouldn’t have been welcome at the synagogue, or even welcome in other people’s homes – she had experienced 12 years in lock-down!
She hears about Jesus and his ability to heal people; she hears that Jesus is returning to Capernaum - she dares herself to go and see him, but one of the leaders of the Synagogue, Jairus was busy talking with Jesus. In those days it would be socially unacceptable for a woman to interrupt the conversation of two men, especially a man like Jairus – a leader in the community. So, she ‘double-dares’ herself to simply touch Jesus clothes, with the intention that she could remain anonymous. But, as soon as she touches the edge of his garment Jesus reacts - and the woman recognises that she can’t remain anonymous.
We are never anonymous when we are with Jesus – he knows us - he knows more about us then we know about ourselves. Jesus encourages the woman to tell her story which ends with her stating that she knows she has been instantly healed through touching Jesus clothes.
Jesus then says to her (v.48) “Daughter, your faith has healed you.” He is making it clear that there wasn’t any ‘magic’ in his clothes which caused her to be healed, but rather it was her faith in who Jesus is which had resulted in her being healed. Among those crowding around Jesus there would have been lots of people with ailments, illnesses and disabilities. Many of them would have found themselves brushing up against Jesus – but they were not shouting out that their toothache had disappeared or that their knee joint was suddenly pain-free. This was because they weren’t reaching out in faith to someone who they believed could bring God’s healing into their lives, they were just inquisitive – there to observe what was going on.
The circumstances were intimidating, but the woman’s faith ‘dared her’ to do what she wouldn’t normally do - she reached out in faith – trusting that Jesus could answer her needs. So, what are we to think when we reach out in faith, trusting Jesus to answer our heart’s desire - and nothing happens? If there were a simple answer to why we can have faith and not receive the healing we desire - everyone would know about it. And if there were a simple answer then God wouldn’t be God, because that answer would say we can make God do what we want him to do.
Some might wrongly say that it is our lack of faith. Faith alone is not what brough about the woman’s healing. Faith needed to be there for her to receive from Jesus but the healing was a gift from God. We cannot demand a gift from God – neither can we manipulate a gift from him, we can only place ourselves in a position to receive all that God wants to give to us.
So, last Sunday we read about Jesus meeting the needs and transforming the life of someone who was socially unacceptable through the choices he had made – Zacchaeus. On Wednesday we read about Jesus meeting the needs and transforming the life of someone who was socially unacceptable through who he was - a Roman centurion – a Gentile and through no fault of his own a ‘reviled foreigner.’ Today we read about Jesus meeting the needs and transforming the life of someone who had no place within her own society, someone who through no fault of her own had become ‘socially unclean.’ Jesus wants to meet the needs and transform the lives of everyone, no one is unacceptable to Jesus or beyond the reach of God’s love. Trust God to answer whatever needs you have in your live.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have felt that many of us need to hold onto the words of Psalm 46 and find sanctuary in God our Fortress.
Use the words of this song to lead you into a place of comfort and security:
Our confidence is in the Lord, the source of our salvation.
Rest is found in Him alone, the author of creation.
We will not fear the evil day, because we have a refuge;
in every circumstance we say, our hope is built on Jesus.
He is our fortress; we will never be shaken.
We will put our trust in God.
(Noel and Tricia Richards (C) 1999 Thank You Music.)
Before you read my Wednesday article, try and spend some time thinking about what is happening to Jairus’ faith as he hears that while Jesus was busy with this nameless woman his precious daughter has died -Stephen