It was unraveling.
I already knew. I’d just forgotten.
But as I stepped away from the keyboard and off the church stage after worship that day, I got a reminder. A long strand pulled from the tassels of my sweater, trailing down to the floor.
Perfect.
I tried to make it to my seat without reacting, without drawing attention, without anyone’s notice. Hoping to be discreet, I sat down and began wrapping the strands in a loop around my index and middle finger. Looping, knotting, and tucking away so everything looked secure on the outside–my best effort at raveling it all back together.
Once again.
Before I could even explain myself to my sister sitting beside me, the next words we heard out of the pastor’s mouth were, “If you’re hanging on by a thread,
It’s the hem of His garment.”
Wow. The two of us shared a simple glance that said it all. We had both shared bits and pieces and condensed prayer requests between sisters, but only God knew the whole story in each of our lives that Sunday morning. Only God knew the struggle and emotional pain I was facing. This one message spoke right to my heart. Why am I always surprised when the Holy Spirit takes a page of Scripture and it applies it like a healing balm to my life?
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What about this woman? Her story, tucked into the folds of ministry in Luke 8, seems like an accident. One unnamed woman who stumbles into Jesus and gets called out? No. It was more than that.
The Scripture says she suffered for twelve years.
* How many doctors had she seen before Jesus’ ministry had even begun? Enough to spend all she had–and still the suffering continued.
* How many times had she heard Jesus preach?
* What caused her to seek him that day?
* How did she feel as she listened to Jairus cry out to Jesus for the life of his daughter? He was desperate. And Jesus was moved with compassion. He was leaving to go with him.
Soon Jesus would be gone.
* How could she hold onto Him for just a moment more?
“Pressing in through the crowd, she came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel of His prayer shawl. Instantly her bleeding stopped and she was healed.” –Luke 8:44 TPT
Suddenly, her secret was out. She was called out–by the Savior.
“Jesus replied, ‘Yes, but I felt power surge through me. Someone touched me to be healed, and they received their healing.’ When the woman realized she couldn’t hide any longer, she came and fell trembling at Jesus’ feet. Before the entire crowd she declared, ‘I was desperate to touch you, Jesus, for I knew if I could just touch even the fringe of your robe I would be healed.’” –Luke 8:46-47 TPT
She too was desperate…
…to stop hiding in the crowd.
…to stop trying to ravel the threads of her life back together alone.
…to hold onto Jesus.
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Are we there yet?
Or are we still trying to deal with life ourselves?
Rehearsing an internal script that sounds like…
* There’s always someone else with a bigger problem.
* These people have real needs. My problems are nothing.
* They’re not important. They’re not worth bothering anyone. It would be selfish of me to ask anyway.
So we go ahead and clean up our cuts and bruises, bandage our wounds again, ignore the fact that we can’t go on much longer. Ignore the feeling of bleeding out. Hospitals are for the physically dying, not for the emotionally broken, hurt, and alone. Saviors are for the lost, not for the souls in the church choir who tithe every week and “amen” every sermon, singing Amazing Grace for the altar call.
No. It’s more than that. Jesus is offering more than that in our lives. I hope we choose to get desperate today and hold onto Him.
Here is the answer He offered to the woman in suffering that day:
“Jesus responded, ‘Beloved daughter, your faith in me has released your healing. You may go with my peace.’” –Luke 8:48 TPT
Dear Lord, today I choose to be desperate in my pursuit of You. I choose to trust You with my life, my family, and my needs. Thank you for Your goodness. Thank you for Your healing. Thank you for Your peace. As I hold onto You each day, I pray my life would never be the same.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Nicki Bishop – Writer
Go find Nicki @mnickibishop and read everything she writes – It’s gold! Her honest heart & love for Jesus will encourage your very soul.
❤️ Carly
THE PEARL COMMUNITY 