by Xylia Sparks-Davis on 09/13/12

Sometimes it feels that God is so far away. Mentally I know that He is right next to me in every situation and every crisis. Emotionally the problems of my life seem so heavy that He feels light years away and I need to cut through the darkness just to get near Him and feel Him close to me.

I wonder if this how the woman with the issue of blood felt in Luke Chapter 8. She was overloaded with medical bills, a seemingly incurable disorder that her doctors could not identify and one dashed hope of getting well after another. She had tried everything she could think of to get well and restore her finances but nothing worked. She hoped that tomorrow would bring a better day and sadly awakened to frustration the next morning. Darkness was looming in her life with no end in sight.

Her blood flow isolated her. She was ritually unclean according to the rules that governed her community which limited what she could do and where she could go. She could not participate in corporate worship or temple ceremonies. She could not start or add children to her family. She should not have even been in the crowd surrounding Jesus that day.

She was holding onto one thing – Faith. The faith that her life would not always look like this; that God had more for her than merely being bound by sickness, financial trouble and isolation. She realized that though her problems were not solved, God was still with her. If she could reach out and hope one more time...if she could just touch Jesus her life could be transformed. She looked beyond this season of her life and focused on where she wanted to be – healed and whole on every level. This is the woman who we find the crowd on that day seeking Jesus, a woman who was tired being bound; who knew there was more for her; and had just enough strength to reach out her hand. One more time, she stretches out her hand and grabbed the fringes of Jesus’ prayer shawl. Immediately healing flowed from His wings and she was healed. Restoration would be the next chapter of her life.

So the next time you and I have a crisis that makes it feel that God is not near we need to press in closer; hold on to our faith in Him and reach. Restoration can be our next chapter too.

Until next time

Xylia

Fete Faith