In the late 1980’s and early 90’s there was a boy band known as the New Kids on the Block. All teen girls LOVED New Kids. Girls had their pictures on their folders, their Trapper Keepers, their T-shirts…
When Kristy and I started dating, her dorm room rocked NEW KIDS posters, pillows, sheets, comforters, and towels. Kristy loved the NK so much she would CALL the 1-900- number! ($2 for the first minute and .45 cents for each additional minute.) All was fine until her dad opened the telephone bill.
Kristy heard her dad start yelling – “What in the world?”
He dialed the 900 number to see who it was… slammed the phone down, grabbed the “spanking spoon” and headed to the back bedroom. Kristy hid in the closet. Her twin sister Kim was no help. She said, “It was Kristy!” Kristy was busted. She was ashamed. She was embarrassed. And she was in hiding. Kristy wasn’t afraid of her dad as much as she was afraid of the consequence. A lot of us treat God the same way—we know He loves us, but we’re still hiding from the conversation.
Today, we will read about a woman who tried to hide from Jesus and receive healing from Jesus at the same time.
Luke 8:43 (NLT2)
43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Mark 5:26-27 (NLT2) 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. Luke 8:44-48 (NLT2)44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felthealing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees before him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
This woman had suffered for TWELVE YEARS. Twelve years of BLEEDING. Twelve years of searching for ANSWERS. Twelve years of spending everything she had, only to get WORSE. And after twelve years of trying everything she knew to do, she was still suffering.
But sometimes, the longer we struggle with something, the harder it becomes to let anyone know what we are going through. We start keeping things to OURSELVES. We start hiding our PAIN. And sometimes, we even start hiding from the very One who can HELP us.
DON'T LET SHAME KEEP YOU FROM JESUS
This woman had been seeking help from one doctor after another. She had tried EVERYTHING to be cured. Doctor after doctor promised a cure, and only caused more harm. Until finally, she ran out of money trying to find a cure for her condition.
And sometimes…
We can spend our lives looking for SOMETHING or SOMEONE to heal what hurts us.
…But there are some wounds that no relationship, no success, no amount of money, and no human effort can heal.
My dad spent his entire adult life trying to heal from the wounds of the abuse he suffered as a kid. He tried to find healing for his childhood in bottle after bottle of liquor, beer after beer in the bar, one pack of cigarettes after another. He tried to hide his shame and run from his hurt and trauma through pornographic magazines and movies. He wanted to numb the pain of his past. He wanted to forget the hurt he experienced AND the hurt he caused.
My dad wasted every penny he had seeking COMFORT and HEALING from things that only made his life worse. My dad passed away at the age of 52. Cancer had ravaged his body, but it was the things he chased after for healing that had destroyed his life.
So please, don’t let shame or embarrassment keep you from seeking the right help. Whether you have been hurt as a child,hurt by the death or trauma of a loved one, hurt by addiction, sin, and mistakes…seek help from Jesus. Jesus CAN work a MIRACLE in your life.
YOUR STORY CAN LEAD SOMEONE TO JESUS
This woman came looking for Jesus because she had heard what He had done for others. PEOPLE were talking about MIRACLES! Jesus was radically changing people's lives and people were talking about him! And she finally heard enough to BELIEVE that Jesus could change HER life too!
Imagine this…
This woman has suffered for twelve years.
Twelve years of bleeding.
Twelve years of disappointment.
Twelve years of searching for relief.
She pushes through the crowd, sneaks up behind Him, and quietly touches His robe.
INSTANTLY she is healed…BECAUSE another person’s story led her to reach out to JESUS!
AND THEN…SHE became the STORYTELLER who told other people about Jesus.
Luke 8:47 (NLT2)
…The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.
Right there, SHE TELLS everybody what Jesus has done for her! The woman who wanted to remain ANONYMOUS is now telling her story PUBLICLY! The woman who approached Jesus from behind is now kneeling before Him! And the crowd that had been pressing against Jesus is now hearing about the miracle He just performed!
She came to Jesus because she HEARD what He had done for others. Now others were HEARING what Jesus had done for HER!
You may never know who needs to HEAR what Jesus has done for YOU.
You may never know who is struggling, hurting, or ready to give up.
You never know who might find the courage to reach for Jesus because they heard what He did for YOU.
But…this is something we need to pay attention to…she wanted to experience her miracle PRIVATELY. But Jesus called her to acknowledge it PUBLICLY! Jesus STOPPED the crowd and said – WHO touched me? POWER went out from me. SOMEBODY just got a MIRACLE.
She may have been looking for an EXIT…She may have been hoping to slip away just as quietly as she had reached out to touch Him…She had received her MIRACLE! But even HEALED, she wanted to keep on HIDING! And…I wonder how many of us try to do the same thing…
We KNOW what Jesus has done for us…
We KNOW how He has changed our lives…
We KNOW what He has brought us through…
But we keep our MIRACLE to OURSELVES! Why?
Are we afraid of what people might THINK?
Are we embarrassed by what we have been THROUGH?
Or have we simply forgotten how much Jesus has DONE?
Somebody needs to hear the story you have been keeping to yourself! Your story could give somebody the HOPE they need to reach out to JESUS!
And this final point applies to all of us…
STEP OUT OF HIDING AND TRUST HIM
The woman was trembling when Jesus called her forward. WHY? She had already been HEALED! So why was she trembling?
Under Leviticus 15:25–27, her condition made her ceremonially UNCLEAN. And anyone who came into contact with her could become ceremonially unclean, too.
For TWELVE YEARS, her condition had affected more than her HEALTH. It had affected her ability to participate in everyday life and worship. And now, standing in front of Jesus and the entire crowd, she may have expected REJECTION.
But how did Jesus respond?
Luke 8:48 (NLT2)
48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Think about what that meant to this woman! For twelve years, people knew her by her CONDITION. For twelve years, her bleeding had affected NEARLY every part of her life. But Jesus does not call her SICKIE…He does not call her GROSS. He does not identify her by her PAST. HE CALLS HER DAUGHTER!
She discovered how much Jesus VALUED her. She came to Jesus looking for HEALING. And Jesus HEALED her and ACCEPTED her, too.
And I wonder how many of us need to be REMINDED that our PAST does not have to define our FUTURE?
See, I have things in my past that I wish I could change. I have made mistakes I wish I could take back. I have struggled with things I would rather nobody know about. Gosh, there have been times when I have wondered…
If people REALLY knew everything about me, would they still SEE me the same way? Would they still love me? Would they still accept me? And yet…MY creator already knows EVERYTHING about me…
He knows my FAILURES.
He knows my REGRETS.
He knows WHAT I have tried to HIDE.
AND HE STILL LOVES ME.
I do not have to pretend I have it all together. And I do not have to HIDE from the One who already knows me completely. See, Jesus knows the WORST about me and STILL offers me His BEST!
And if that is true for ME…IT IS TRUE FOR YOU, TOO!
Today, I want to give you the opportunity to step out of HIDING and into a relationship with JESUS. YOUR STORY could be the next one Jesus changes!
Just as Jesus STOPPED for this woman…I believe He is inviting YOU to REACH out to Him RIGHT NOW. You do not have to clean up your life FIRST. You do not have to fix everything you have BROKEN. You do not have to have all the ANSWERS. YOU just have to REACH out to him.
God, I am done hiding.
I have heard what You have done for others, and today I am reaching out to You.
I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead.
I confess that I am a sinner who needs Your forgiveness.
Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, my Savior and Lord.
I turn away from my sin, and I surrender my life to You.
Thank You for loving me, accepting me, and giving me a new beginning. Amen.
Today is not the FINISH LINE. It is the START of a brand-new life with JESUS!