In Matthew 9:18-26, we see two acts of faith and two miracles of healing. One miracle was instantaneous, and the other was a miracle that unfolded over time. Both miracles were the response to Jesus because of their faith.
One miracle was that a religious leader came to Jesus, and said, My daughter is sick and is dying, but you can heal her if you come and pray with her. So the disciples and Jesus got up and went with him.
In verse 20, “Just then (as they were going to pray with the sick girl), a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind Him. (Jesus). She touched the fringe of the robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.”
Jesus turns to this desperate woman of faith and says, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”
What an incredible miracle of healing!
We see some important qualities of the faith of this woman!
* Look at the DURATION of her sickness! She has been sick for twelve long years. The longer a person is ill, the more they suffer and begin to lose hope!
* Look at the DISCOURAGEMENT or DEPRESSION of her sickness! The longer you are sick, the easier it is to lose hope and battle discouragement and depression. It is what my life is going to be like! We begin to feel stuck in our sickness! Faith does not give up believing that today could be the day of my miracle.
* Look at the DIRTINESS of her sickness! An issue of blood was considered something that was dirty and would forbid a woman from going to the temple. But she did not allow her condition to keep her away from Jesus. I am thankful that I can bring my dirt, my sin, my flaws to Jesus because He is the only one who can cleanse us from the dirt of life!
* Look at the DISTRESS of her sickness! Another account of this miracle in the Gospels says that she had spent all she had on doctors trying to find an answer! This woman has tried everything she could to find a cure, but there was nothing left for her to do.
* So look at her DESPERATION for Jesus! “If I could only touch the fringe of His garment, I would be healed!
Today, what can we learn from the woman with the issue of blood? What is the Lord saying to you today?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication
