{"id":16757,"date":"2017-11-29T08:59:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T13:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=16757"},"modified":"2017-11-29T14:25:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T19:25:04","slug":"worship-wednesday-desperate-faith-healing-is-in-your-hands-christy-nockels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=16757","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Desperate Faith – Healing Is In Your Hands – Christy Nockels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Everyday Theologian, Rod Ovitt<\/a><\/p>\n

When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea. <\/span> 22\u00a0<\/sup>One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet<\/span><\/em> and kept begging Him, \u201cMy little daughter is at death\u2019s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.\u201d<\/em> – Mark 5:21-23<\/a>
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\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Free Bible Images<\/a><\/p>\n

So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been afflicted for twelve years by an issue of bleeding.\u00a0<\/span>She had suffered greatly under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.\u2026<\/em> – Mark 5:24-26<\/a><\/p>\n

The Biblical accounts of two desperate daughters are found in three of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). In Mark 5<\/a>, we see Jesus in a throng of people pressing in to be close to him. Jairus, the local religious leader, manages to get to him on behalf of his very ill 12-year-old daughter. Jesus agrees to go home with Jairus. He would heal this beloved child.<\/p>\n

Then the drama escalates as a woman, plagued with a bleeding disorder for 12 years, also pushes through the crowd to get to Jesus. For all those years, she had tried everything to be well, to have the sentence of “unclean” removed from her daily existence. Just imagine being this woman. Refused admission into any religious service. For 12 years. Known and avoided by all in her village. For 12 years. If married, even unable to cook for her family or have the nearness of their company.<\/p>\n

In desperate faith, this unnamed woman, having heard of Jesus, believed in his ability to heal her. She reckoned that all she needed to do was to touch the edge of his robe, and she could be healed.<\/p>\n

She squeezed through the crowd, surely having to conceal her identity…and reached just far enough…to touch the hem of his garment. She was healed immediately.\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Magdala<\/a><\/p>\n

The riveting account of this divine encounter goes on to reveal to us that Jesus knew power had gone out of him. In the teeming crowd, he recognized one, in particular, had touched him. When she came forward to identify herself, he greeted her with the tenderest of words:<\/p>\n

\u201cDaughter,\u201d<\/span> he said to her, \u201cyour faith has made you well.<\/span> Go in peace and be free<\/span> <\/strong>from your affliction.\u201d<\/strong> [Mark 5:33]<\/a>
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Desperate faith is not about working up to enough faith for God to move in a miraculous way. The most critical factor in faith is its object. Both Jairus and this afflicted woman had faith in Jesus – they believed he could heal and they leaned on him in their struggle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Preparing the Way<\/a><\/p>\n

Did we forget about Jairus? No we did not. However, within this story there is another truth. Sometimes, we have to wait…what seems an eternity…but not really. Even in the short delay to get back home, his little daughter had died. While he waited on Jesus’ encounter with this woman (whom he surely knew and knew she was unclean), he must have been aghast at how her touch would make Jesus unclean.<\/p>\n

No…that isn’t how it goes. Nothing we bring to Jesus changes his nature. Jesus transforms our uncleanness. He moves us, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, from death to life. In our desperation, when we know there is nowhere to go but to him, he is there. Present. Ready to release his power on our behalf…because he loves us. In turn, we love him…and whatever is causing heartache in our lives fades in comparison.\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Free Bible Images<\/a><\/p>\n

Jesus didn’t keep Jairus’ daughter from dying, but he brought her back to life. Neither she, nor her father, nor anyone else who witnessed this would ever be the same.<\/p>\n

One last thought…what about all the rest of the crowd jostling Jesus? Only two pushed through in faith. Only two had life-changing encounters with him. The rest must have been merely curious. May it never be so for us. When our struggles leave us grasping desperately for help…may our reach find the One who knows exactly what we need and responds with love and power.<\/p>\n

Worship please with me<\/a> to the song Healing Is In Your Hands<\/em> by Christy Nockels:<\/p>\n

No mountain, no valley, no gain or loss we know
\nCould keep us from Your love
\nNo sickness, no secret, no chain is strong enough
\nTo keep us from Your love
\nTo keep us from Your love<\/p>\n

How high, how wide
\nNo matter where I am, healing is in Your hands
\nHow deep, How strong
\nAnd now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands<\/p>\n

Our present, our future, our past is in Your hands
\nWe’re covered by Your blood
\nWe’re covered by Your blood<\/p>\n

How high, How wide
\nNo matter where I am, healing is in Your hands
\nHow deep, How strong
\nAnd now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands<\/p>\n

In all things we know that
\nWe are more than conquerors
\nYou keep us by Your love*<\/p>\n