We are now transitioning in our journey from the prodigal son, who was healthy but choose to live away from his father’s house, to someone who was already sick for 12 years. The writer of this story is St. Luke, who was a physician before becoming a disciple. Therefore, he understands the extent of the disease and how it can be overwhelming.
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).
This woman is like many of us, desperately trying to escape the deep struggles within ourselves. Her problem lies within her blood. For 12 long years, she has been dealing with this issue, seeking help from countless doctors and spending a fortune. In fact, she has exhausted all her resources, as mentioned in the Bible. year after year, she continues to lose a lot of blood, becoming weaker and weaker. This may not seem too difficult in today’s world, but it was even harder for her because she was subject to the Levitical law.
Levitical law.
In Judaism, According to the Levitical law, a woman who experiences abnormal bleeding for an extended period, either outside of her regular monthly cycle or beyond her usual menstruation, will be regarded as unclean. Additionally, anything or anyone she comes into contact with will also be considered unclean.
If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. (Leviticus 15:25).
The Jewish community considers such a woman unclean, leading everyone to stay away from her and avoid getting close to her. She is forced to isolate herself and endures the judgmental stares from anyone who sees her, which only further burdens her already shattered soul. It’s no surprise that she is willing to spend everything she has to seek a cure, as her current existence feels devoid of any true meaning or value.
That is the reality for many of us. We find ourselves trapped in a cycle of living with pornography and attempting multiple times to quit, only to be met with failure. Deep down, we know that this cannot go on forever. However, with each failed attempt, our hope diminishes. As the years pass and we continue in this habit, we feel ourselves growing weaker. Perhaps you have heard that voice inside, the one that I have heard countless times, telling us that we will never break free, that our lives are destined to be consumed by this addiction until the end.
Yet, when she heard Jesus approaching, she had a little spark that if she could just touch his clothes, she would be healed. Undoubtedly, she must have heard about the many miracles he had performed previously.
Being conscious of her own uncleanness, she might have been fearful and reluctant to approach Jesus.
A whirlwind of questions flooded her thoughts. – what if he decides to send me away? How can he touch me when I am impure? If she touches him in front of others, she can render him ceremonially unclean.
He is always surrounded by people, making it difficult for her to find him alone to discuss her blood issue.
Peter himself attests that currently people are pressuring and overwhelming Jesus.
Her face cannot be seen in the crowd because people will shout at her and forcefully remove her from the crowd even before she approaches Jesus.
Taking Action
She plans to discreetly approach him from behind and hide. Then she will lightly touch his cloth from the back. She hopes she won’t be noticed because of the crowded surroundings.
Jesus granted her immediate healing as a reward for enduring all that to touch his clothes.
Besides that, despite her feeling unclean, he wanted her to come forward and show her faith to the crowd.
Jesus himself acknowledged that power had left him.
It’s incredible that he said that.
It’s not a matter of asking and receiving, but rather approaching with a humble heart aware of its own sickness to access God’s unlimited power and healing. That woman didn’t ask, she just took, and he let her.
Today, my dear, will you approach him with an humble heart? Or will you say, “I am unclean”? He is passing through your life tonight. The question is, will you extend your hand to touch his clothing? Will you receive from him? Or will you get busy trying to heal your broken soul through exercises, doctors and other sacrifices,
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalms 51:17).
Perhaps some of us have spent 12 years attempting countless methods to quit porn and have failed at every attempt. Maybe we have exhausted our finances trying to find a solution to our addiction, as the Bible says about that woman she spent all her living. Yet Jesus stands outside our door every day, knocking.
Know your battle. This woman, she was broken in her heart, tired in her body, ashamed before all people, and even worried that the only master who could heal her might also reject her because he is Jewish. She overcame all of that and yet touched him and took from him without even asking. And yet, he actually blessed her and healed her. That was her battle.
And you my beloved fighter, your battle is not with porn, the disease that taking over your blood for years, your real battle is with yourself to overcome you feeling being tired all this years and feeling of depression and the feeling of shame, and the feeling of being unclean and unworthy to stand in front of him, this my dear is your battle.
Once you conquer this obstacle and reach out to him, speaking to him in prayer, Jesus will acknowledge that he sensed a transfer of power from himself to you.
With that power, you can experience healing and overcome your addiction, making the burden easier to bear.
Dear fighter, let us keep praying. Our simple prayers are like touching his garment, enabling him to work miracles. They hold the key to his power. Just as he healed the bleeding woman, he will respond to anyone who humbly approaches him with their prayers each day.
Keep fighting,
win this battle
