Claiming Your Miracle: The Power of Persistent Faith

You have to be strong in these last days.

You can’t give up on receiving your miracle. You may have to push through some obstacles before you will hold your answer in your hand or see it with your eyes.

The woman with the issue of blood understood this truth all too well (see Mark 5:25-34). We discussed in Chapter 4 the power that rested in her decision to respond to the delivering voice of hope in her heart. Remember, this woman had been bleeding for 12 years. It’s difficult to imagine how horrible that must have been for this woman — how exhausted she must have felt, how greatly she must have suffered.

Under the Jewish Law, a person with this kind of disease was a social outcast, rejected by everyone. Leviticus chapter 5 describes how someone with this woman’s condition was viewed under the Law. She was considered “an unclean thing” under the category of “human uncleanness” (see Leviticus 5:2,3). If someone even touched a surface where she had been sitting or lying down, that person would also have become unclean. No one could hug this woman or even give her a loving touch, because anyone who did would have instantly become unclean as well.

So not only was this woman suffering physically, but she was suffering emotionally. Not even her family members could touch her during those 12 long years that she had suffered with this disease. It was as if she had a big sign hanging on her that shouted, “UNCLEAN!” It’s difficult to imagine the rejection this woman dealt with every day of her life for all those years.

If you have ever been rejected because of a condition you had no control over, you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you felt rejected because of what you looked like. Maybe you didn’t walk right; your arm didn’t function right; or you couldn’t hear well. Whatever the case, you may know what it’s like to be rejected because of something completely outside your control.

But that isn’t the love of Jesus. He doesn’t reject any- one. Whoever comes to the Father in His name, He receives unconditionally.

Nevertheless, that was the situation this woman faced. She had worn the identity of “unclean” that religion had placed on her for 12 years. Then came the moment when she heard others speak about the miracles of Jesus — and the delivering voice of the Holy Spirit birthed hope in this woman’s heart.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 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 5:25-28).

This woman had spent all her money over the years looking for a natural answer. Then she heard of Jesus. What did she hear about Him? We can imagine. She heard that the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf were opened under His ministry. She heard that someone who couldn’t walk was now walking. She may have even heard that a demon had been cast out of someone’s child and now the child was normal. And as she heard about the miracles, a new sense of hope was born in her heart. She decided that if she could just touch His garment, she would be healed.

It doesn’t make natural sense to believe that you’re going to be healed just by touching someone’s clothes, but that was this woman’s faith. Where did her faith come from? It came from what she had heard. The woman heard about the miracles Jesus had performed for people, and hope arose in her heart.

Hope had opened the door for the woman with the issue of blood to begin pushing through to her miracle.

This woman had been hearing about Jesus’ miracles. Maybe she had just gotten back from the doctor and spent the last of her money, yet was still bleeding. She didn’t feel any better, and she was exhausted.

But the woman had been hearing about Jesus, so she began to think to herself, Jesus has so much power! Everyone He prays for is getting healed. I know that I’m unclean and I’m not supposed to go out of my house. But no matter what people think about me, I have to do it. I believe that Jesus has so much power in Him that if I can get through that crowd and just touch the hem of His garment, even just a tassel, I can be healed.

The woman didn’t know it, but she had tapped into a spiritual law as she kept saying to herself what she believed. An inner courage began to rise as she told herself to get up, walk out of the house, and go find Jesus.

The journey must have been challenging. The woman was still dealing with an issue of blood as she walked the distance to reach Jesus. But those thoughts that fueled her hope kept her pressing on as she drew near the crowd: I don’t know how I’m going to get to Jesus, but I’m going to somehow find a way. I don’t have to touch Him. If I can just touch His garment, I’ll be healed.

The woman wasn’t asking Jesus to lay hands on her; she knew that she was unclean. She just wanted to grab a miracle in secret because a seed of faith had been planted in her heart: I know if I can just touch Jesus’ garment, I’m going to be healed!

I can just imagine the scene when the woman was within a few yards of Jesus. She could hear His voice. Scholars say that the woman may have actually crawled on the ground in order to slip through the crushing crowd without anyone noticing. Her entire focus was just to get within arm’s length of Jesus so she could secretly reach out and grab her healing.

It is the only place in the gospels I know of that someone came from behind Jesus to touch Him; everyone else came to speak to Him face to face. But this woman was unclean; she wasn’t sup- posed to touch Him or anyone else.

Inching closer and closer to Jesus, the woman finally got near enough to stretch out her hand and touch the hem of His garment.

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” (Mark 5:29,30)

Immediately the blood stopped flowing and the woman’s hemorrhaging ceased. Immediately Jesus was aware that the power of God had gone out of Him.

It had happened according to the woman’s faith. Her faith had pulled healing power out of Jesus and into her body, and she knew that she was healed.

Jesus looked around and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” All kinds of people were jostling and pressing against Jesus — but He knew that someone had touched Him with the touch of faith.

Look at His disciples’ response in verse 31:

But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

The disciples didn’t understand what had just happened. But Jesus didn’t pay attention to what the disciples said; He knew that the power of God had gone out of Him. “And He looked around to see her who had done this thing” (v. 32). So we can see that the word of knowledge was working in Jesus at this moment, because He knew it was a woman who had touched Him.

You can just imagine. Everyone was focused on Jesus. After all, He was the reason they had all gathered. So when He stopped and looked around, they must have thought, Why did Jesus stop? Why is He looking around?

The woman also saw Jesus looking around to see who had touched Him. She heard Him ask, “Who touched Me?” She might have gasped as she realized, He knows!

Suddenly the woman’s secret miracle wasn’t so secret anymore, and fear must have risen up and threatened to take over in her mind. She knew that she was the one He was looking for, but she was so afraid. The Bible even says that she was trembling. But the secret was out. It was time for her to tell Jesus the whole truth.

Certainly this woman had to push through her fear to even draw attention to herself by answering Jesus — but the Bible says that is what she did. This woman spoke up and told Jesus the whole truth.

But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth (Mark 5:33).

Can you imagine? The woman probably said something like, “I’m the one who touched You, Jesus. And I’m not bleeding any- more — I’m healed! I’ll tell You how it happened.

“I had been bleeding for 12 years. It’s been so horrible. You know, Jesus, that anyone in that condition is declared unclean. All these years, I haven’t touched my children, my husband, or my friends. I’ve just stayed in my house — lonely, rejected, and unclean.

“Then I started hearing about You, Jesus. I heard that You open the eyes of the blind. I heard that the lame start walking after You pray for them. I heard that You pray for the demon-possessed and they get set free! And I also heard that You fed all those people on a mountain with just two fish and five loaves!

“After hearing all that, I said to myself, I believe if I can just touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, I’ll be healed. So I did what I had to do to get here, Jesus. It was a struggle, but the entire way, I just kept saying to myself, All I need to do is touch the hem of His garment, and I’ll be healed.

“When I got here, I got down on my knees and started crawling through the crowd. Then I saw Your feet and the hem of Your garment, and I just reached out and touched the hem for a split second. And when I did, this issue of blood that has afflicted my body for 12 years stopped — and I’m healed!”

‘Go in Peace’

I love how Jesus replied so simply to the woman:

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34).

“Go in peace,” Jesus said to the woman. He knew all about that sickness that this woman had carried and how it had stolen her peace. And He didn’t chastise her for violating the Law by coming out in public to find Him. In fact, Jesus commended the woman for having the courage to act on her faith, and He pointed to that faith as the reason she was made whole.