Daughter, your faith has healed you!

Luke 8:43-48

   "As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,t and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

This women has been a spiritual hero for me for some time. I can identify with her because, I too, have had the same kinds of issues she suffered from for 12 years. I only had to deal with mine for about 3; and it nearly drove me insane, I can't imagine dealing with something like that for 12 years! I understand her thinking, because I've often thought, if I can just TOUCH the edge of His robe, I KNOW I'll be healed! But that's where our similarities end. I don't have a robe to touch, and she had the faith to go out and do what needed to be done.

I find hope in this verse though, because Jesus called her daughter; and told her that her faith had healed her. How amazing that must have felt for her. First, she found the courage to actually touch the robe. In her culture women didn't tend to get to learn at the feet of Teachers; and Jesus was just such a Teacher. So for her to be brave enough to even approach Him is fantastic, but she actually touched his robe! I am not an expert in the culture of the times, but I'm guessing that was pretty much a no-no, to touch an important person at all. Now, Jesus' ministry never followed the rules of the times, and he interacted with women a lot, so this wasn't really new to Him. I would guess that it was new to her though. I'd guess this because she didn't immediately confess that it was her He had healed. That's where my second portion of hope comes in, once she did confess; He told her that her faith had healed her! The third thing that gives me hope is that He said to "go in peace". So this women is healed by faith and is given a peace about it! She "broke the rules" but He gave her, and those standing around her, verbal confirmation that she did do the right thing and should feel no guilt!

I'm starting to notice that Jesus doesn't take credit for a lot of things in the Bible, He seems to lay the credit at the healee's faith. I want that kind of faith! I want to hear “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”  Sometimes I feel a little pompous writing my blog and coming to conclusions based on what I learn. I feel like I read into things too much, or not enough; in essence, that I'm breaking the rules by writing down my thoughts and observations to be read by other people. I urn to hear my Lord and Savior say this to me, that my faith has made me well and I shouldn't feel guilty about being healed.

My whole journey started with these thoughts, Faith of a Small Seed. I've come a long way in a few weeks, but not nearly far enough. I pray the Lord will continue to lead me and guide me through the process of gaining that "small seed" faith!