The Woman with the Issue of Blood

Day 1

Her Character: So desperate for healing, she ignored the conventions of the day just for the chance to touch Jesus.

Her Sorrow: To have suffered a chronic illness that isolated her from others. (Leviticus 15:25-27)

Her Joy: That after long years of suffering, she finally found peace and freedom.

Matthew 9:20-22
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."
22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

Mark 5:25-34
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She 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. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Luke 8:43-48
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45"Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

Day 2

Twelve years of loneliness. Twelve years in which physicians had bled her of all her wealth. Her private affliction becoming a matter of public record. Every cup she handled, every chair she sat on could transmit defilement to others. Even though her impurity was considered a ritual matter rather than an ethical one, it had rendered her an outcast, making it impossible for her to live with a husband, bear a child, or enjoy the intimacy of friends and family. Surely the rabbi could censure her.

But instead of scolding and shaming her, Jesus praised her: "Daughter, you faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

His words must have been like water breaching a dam, breaking through her isolation, setting her free. He had addressed her not harshly, but tenderly; not as "woman" or "sinner," but rather as daughter. She was no longer alone, but part of his family by virtue of her faith.

That day, countless men and women had brushed against Jesus, but only one had truly touched him. And instead of being defiled by contact with her, his own touch had proven the more contagious, rendering her pure and whole again.

How would you feel if you had the opportunity to actually touch Jesus physically? Would Jesus recognize your touch by your faith? Do you have the strength to reach out and grab at the healing and freedom that He desires you to have?

Day 3

"your faith has healed you"

Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Do you believe you can move mountains? Do you believe that the same spirit that healed the woman with the issue of blood lives inside of you?

Heavenly Father, Forgive us for our little faith. Lord, today will you remind me that I am a new creation in you. You have healed me from the curse of death. Remind me that all things are possible with you. In Jesus Name~Amen

Day 4
Promises in Scripture

I am the Lord, who heals you.~Exodus 15:26

O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.~Psalm 30:2

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his hold name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.~Psalm 103:1-4

"They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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."~Revelations 21:3-4

Day 5

Praise God that His touch produces peace and freedom.

Offer thanks for faith is a gift that increases with use.

Confess any tendency to play it so safe you actually begin to suffocate the faith you have.

Ask God to bring this woman's story to mind the next time you are faced with an opportunity to exercise real faith.

Lift Your Heart. Take a moment this week to sit in quiet. Picture yourself reaching out to touch Jesus' robes. What do you need healing for? What affliction are you suffering from? What part of your life is calling out for freedom? Imagine being released from these things, and believe it will happen. Your faith, no matter how small can move mountains.