When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 5:27)
Large groups of people pressed around Him. Possibly many sick people were present. One in particular suffered a great deal. Twelve years to be exact. She had gone to many doctors. Nothing worked. She grew worse. She heard Jesus was in the crowd. A thought came clearly, “I just need to touch His clothes. Then I will be healed.” She pressed through. She found Jesus. She touched Jesus. Her suffering ended.
What crowd is standing in your way, keeping you from reaching Jesus?
Crowds still create obstacles that separate us from Him. Crowds can be brutal. They can trip and trample us. Kick dirt in our faces. Push us out. Suffocate us. Make us uncomfortable. They rarely show us mercy. Is it really worth the struggle to press through the crowd? Why not just accept our condition and live with it? Wouldn’t it be easier?
What if it were still true that Someone is in the crowds Who will meet our needs and answer our questions? Would we press through and find Him? Unfortunately, too few will face the challenge of crawling through the crowds. For some, it seems way too difficult. For others, it’s too simple.
The crowds confront us with some painfully honest questions. As soon as we begin the journey, we will realize that these questions can’t be answered without our willingness to change everything.
The crowds of life unmask our established behavioral patterns that expose what we really believe about healing. They reflect our unbiblical opinions. They cause us to ponder our paths, both past and present. The crowds dare us to delve into, divulge, discuss, and defeat the deep internal issues of our lives.
The crowds show us how much time and effort we have truly devoted to becoming a disciple of the life and ministry of Jesus. Our weaknesses are magnified in the midst of the mayhem. Lack of discipline becomes evident when our endurance runs dry. Cries for a miracle are suddenly squelched by the reality that we have been selfish. Simultaneously deep convictions spring forth giving us the motivation to press in harder. If we battle through the crowds long enough, we find what we really believe about Jesus (right and wrong).
We realize that in order to receive and experience God’s will concerning healing a complete lifestyle change is necessary. We can’t live the way we have always lived. We see that being a disciple of Jesus is not effortless. The process demands discipline. It craves constant reforming and refocusing.
As we press through the crowds, eventually we come upon people who are closer to our Answer. They have seen Jesus from a different angle. Their experience shows that Jesus never once rejected a person that came to Him for healing. His power to heal works in their lives. They have seen it for themselves. They have payed the price. They have been close enough to touch Him. They speak from a lifestyle of applied knowledge. Their testimonies either frustrate or empower our determination. It’s our choice. This part of the crowd seems to know that His power is present to heal at this very moment.
Are we willing to take on the crowds? I’m not sure we are.
Crowds of time. Crowds of hype. Crowds of doubt. Crowds of questions. Crowds of answers. Crowds of faith. Crowds of wrong thinking. Crowds of confusion. Crowds of bad attitudes. Crowds of unforgiveness. Crowds of opinions. Crowds of encouragement. Crowds of naysayers. Crowds of different experiences. Crowds of miracles. Crowds of pain. Crowds of failure. Crowds of Scriptures. Crowds of prayer. Crowds of fear. Crowds of sickness. Crowds of Christians that did or didn’t get healed. Crowds of doctors. Crowds of diagnoses. Crowds of hospital visits. Crowds, crowds, crowds!
Don’t quit. Push into, through, and past the crowds. Find the Healer. He has been there all along. The day we find Him is when we learn how to find Him again and again. The process is hard. It takes time, but when we reach out and touch Him we will be healed. That part is easy when we’re close to Him.
How do we know when we have touched Jesus or He has touched us? While everyone’s journey is different, I believe that when we truly touch Him, He becomes all that matters. Not the struggle, not the pain, not the sickness, not the crowds, not even the healing. Only Him. Jesus.
“And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said…”Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:30-34)
