Extreme Faith
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. ~Mark 5:34
Perhaps one of the most difficult experiences in life is being diagnosed with a medical disorder that no doctor or known medicine is able to treat. The person with the disorder will do anything extreme if it means that they can be made whole or healed of their disorder. Our devotion this morning is about a woman who encountered this type of situation and is an example of someone who had an extreme faith.
We see this woman and her identity.
We know nothing about her name. Throughout this account, her name is not given to us. In her anonymity, she represents scores of people who have critical problems and whom nobody knows about. It might seem that she is forgotten and not important. However, the fact that she is recorded here in Scripture is a reminder to me that no one is anonymous to God. Everyone has an identity that God cares about and does not forget.
We see this woman and her insecurity.
She sought out every doctor that she could to treat her disorder, but she was none the better. She spent up everything that she had for the hope that she could be healed of her disease. No doctor or treatment available could make her well. Her hope was fading. Her options appeared to be dried up. Her situation was looking bleak and without hope. She woke up every day and went to bed every night wondering how much worse her situation can become.
We see this woman and her insight.
She heard that Jesus had come to her town. She had heard of His miraculous exploits. She heard of the blind being able to see, those who were terminally ill getting back their heath, and many impossible situations becoming possible through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Her hearing led to faith. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." She had heard enough to develop the insight that only Jesus can make her whole of her incurable disorder.
We see this woman and her initiative.
There was a large crowd of people around Jesus. She thought that she was nobody of importance and could not get an audience with Jesus. She decided that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she can be healed. She knew that Jesus was coming her way and that her only hope was to get close enough so that she could touch His garment and be healed. This woman exercised extreme faith. Extreme faith takes the necessary steps and initiative in order to see God do what we cannot. It is a rare kind of faith that determines that it must reach out and touch the Savior so that His power can make her well.
We see this woman and the impossible.
Jesus knew that virtue had gone out of Him. Of all the people thronging Him, He knew that she was the only one who had faith to touch His garment for her well-being. She was healed! Her issue of blood or hemorrhaging was immediately dried up. The impossible had occurred! A miracle had occurred in her body. She was made whole of the disease.
We see this woman and her initiation.
In addition to finding healing through Jesus, she also found a home through Him. "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole." She had faith to believe that Jesus would take care of her. Simultaneously with her healing, she became a child of God. She was saved. She was forgiven. She was transformed and changed. She was brought into the family of God.
Extreme faith changes everything for us. Don’t settle for anything less than an extreme faith: a faith that holds tightly and trusts God to do the impossible.
Have an extreme-faith God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Kings 21-22