I Don't Need the Hem, I Need Him
Yesterday could be summed up in one word.
Overwhelmed.
Just a glance at my webpage tabs yesterday would tell you what I spent my day doing. On the one side were scriptures and commentary on the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garments to be healed, and on the other, multiple medical sites were open, researching answers for my family's myriad of illnesses. The woman who had sought medical care spent 12 years without relief. She was an outcast and now broke with failed medical treatments. Like me, I think she might have shed some major tears. Then she hears about this great healer. He's the answer, I know it!
The weight of my family's health is so heavy that it feels as if my faith might break. I want an outward manifestation that God is good, but as I read this woman's story of healing, I realized that I don't need to touch the hem of Christ's garment, I have HIM in my heart.
Notice that Jesus says, "your faith," not "because you touched my clothes," you are healed. Do not take for granted that the greatest miracle in our lives is that Jesus chooses to dwell in us when we believe. No more law to get to God, no more having to perform the perfect formula. The answers are all right there, living in us. Amazing!
So, as I close the medical tabs of anxious searching this morning and determine to trust God's perfect plan, maybe He does outward healing, maybe not, but I can tell you this much for sure. Our family is changing from the inside out. We are reaching for Jesus in our fears.
We cannot always help the moments of wrestling with flesh, the world, our enemy—we live in a crowded, smog-filled, faith-challenging world. But don't spiral into fear, depression, and despair because God isn't answering the way we think He should.
Just like the woman had a permanent reminder of what God had done for her, I can see the lasting marks in us. My husband is praying more deeply, my son is taking responsibility for his own health, my daughter is voicing her needs, and I am turning to the truth of scripture over my fears. As a result, I get to encourage you. None of my physical circumstances have changed this morning, but God is giving me peace from the inside out.
I don't have to touch the hem of Jesus' garment for healing. I need to have faith that He will do what He says he will.
Questions for Reflection:
- What or whom do you turn to in times of frustration, fear, and despair?
- How often do you offer your burdens to God, and ask not for a direct healing, but for His will to be done, whatever that might be?
