How Bad Do You Want It?
“Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had
spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came
from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood
stopped. And Jesus said, ‘Who touched
Me?’ When all denied it, Peter and those
with him said, ‘Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who
touched Me?’ But Jesus said, ‘Somebody
touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.’ Now when the woman saw that she was not
hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in
the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was
healed immediately. And He said to her,
‘Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
–Luke 8:43-48 NKJV
A well known life coach, Iyanla
Vanzant can often be heard telling people, “Beloved, I’m not going to fight you
for your healing.” What she is trying to
tell them is, you have to want your healing more than I do.
In our subject scripture, the woman
with the issue of blood was in a state of desperation. She was determined, against all odds, to get
her healing. Based on tradition and customs alone, she was forbidden to be in
public because of her menses. “If a woman has a flow of blood for many
days that is unrelated to her menstrual period, or if the blood continues
beyond the normal period, she is ceremonially unclean. As during her menstrual period, the woman will
be unclean as long as the discharge continues.
Any bed she lies on and any object she sits on during that time will be
unclean, just as during her normal menstrual period. If any of you touch these things, you will be
ceremonially unclean. You must wash your
clothes and bathe yourself in water, and you will remain unclean until
evening. When the woman’s bleeding
stops, she must count off seven days.
Then she will be ceremonially clean.” Leviticus 15:25-28 She was considered ceremonially unclean, and
had been for twelve long years. Living
in isolation from her family, friends, and the community. No family gatherings for birthdays, holidays,
or celebrations. No physical touch for
twelve years. Broken, and broke. She had “spent
all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any”.
Imagine her desperation. Then she heard Jesus was passing through. She risked it all to be in the crowd that
day. By faith, she risked punishment for her
actions, as well as making all she touched ceremonially unclean, including
Jesus. She probably thought, ‘just a
small touch and I’ll be on my way, no one will know.’ But Jesus knew. He felt the power leave him with her touch,
and immediately she was healed. Instead
of punishment, she received healing and
compassion for her faith. “And He said to her, ‘Daughter, be of good
cheer; your faith has made you well. Go
in peace.” What are you willing to
risk for YOUR healing?
Margaret Slaughter
