“Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that
He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Earlier this week I found myself sitting in the hospital while my dad had an MRI of his brain to look for signs of dementia. While I waited, my mind raced as I worried. I kept telling myself to have faith and pray. To trust Him completely, confidently and without fear like the woman healed of bleeding by touching Jesus’ robe.
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe, because she thought, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” (Matthew 5:25-29)
For twelve years she suffered and because of the nature of her condition she would have been considered unclean and an outcast. But even in the desperate position that she was in, she heard about Jesus and had faith. She didn’t think she was worthy enough to ask Jesus for help, but she recognized His power. She was humbly confident and fully believed that Jesus could do miracles upon miracles.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Jesus not only physically healed her, He publicly declared her to be ritually clean and fully accepted. (Mark 5:34)
As I wait for the results, my faith resembles more of Peter's while on the Sea of Galilee.
“Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’
‘Come,’ He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’" ( Matthew 14:26-30)
I have enough faith to get out of the boat, but like Peter, I can lose my focus on Him and pay attention to the storm all around me. In the midst of a miracle, Peter thinks about who he is, a fisherman that can’t walk on water and he begins to sink. He was doubtful and afraid even though he had just witnessed Jesus miraculously feed 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish. And yet, “Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31)
The gospel of Mathew reveals that Jesus did not perform many miracles in His hometown because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:58) They refused to accept Him, did not trust Him, or recognize Him as the Messiah, so they did not seek Him and failed to experience the miracles.
It seems that Peter’s fear and lack of faith resulted in a short-lived miracle of him walking on water, whereas the woman’s strong faith allowed the miracle of her healing. But Peter’s exercise of faith does not end in failure. Although he was sinking in fear, he calls out to the Lord, “Save me!” God loves to hear our cry for help. It means we believe He is our Savior and we know that even when we have doubts or fears, He is always faithful.
“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:23-24)
The woman reached out to Jesus and silently cried for Him to save her. Like her, we may have been outcasts or felt abandoned and desperate for a merciful touch. We have likely all prayed for a miracle of healing. Her story doesn’t tell us that we, or our loved ones, will always be physically healed this side of Heaven, but rather, what it looks like to reach out to Jesus in times of suffering and loneliness, to receive the truth.
Regardless of my dad’s results, God is always good and His promises are true. Just as He saved Peter and the woman, we have been saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) By sacrificing His life on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins so that we may have eternal life. As His children, we are made new and receive the miracle of salvation.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.'" (Revelation 21:4-5)