Wednesday, August 29, 2007

When the bleeding won't stop

Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Daniel 1, 2, 3; Psalm 119:25-48 (NIV)

Jeremiah 31:16-17 (NIV)

16 This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy,

17 so there is hope for your future,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.”

Mark 5:24-29 (NIV)

24 So Jesus went with them. A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”

Good morning!

If you are a parent, you’ve probably made a couple of emergency room runs with children who have injured some part of their body after a sports injury or fall. “Stitches” has become a household word at the Spaulding home. Our three-year-old granddaughter Emily calls them “itches.” We sport our scars, like trophies sitting in a lighted display case. “Yeah, I got this scar was when I ran into my friend Billy at football practice. You should see the mark I left on him. It was cool!” Or, you may hear your baby say with clinched teeth and a brave face, “I’m okay, Mom. It doesn’t hurt all that much.”

Accidents happen. Our babies fall down and get hurt. We spent a couple of memorable hours in the emergency room with our young son David when he went cruising into the corner of a table at a Christian daycare center. He hit his head, just above the right eye. Arriving to pick David up, we saw his teacher was sitting on the floor in a blood stained shirt, rocking our David in her arms. Kneeling all around her were David’s classmates and friends. With hands folded and eyes closed, they were praying for David’s owwee to stop bleeding and get better. We took a closer look at his blood-stained face. David’s eyebrow was laid open and hanging down below his eyelid. There was no doubt about it – this kid was going to need “itches” and he had ten of them that day.

Sometimes the bleeding just won’t stop without the touch of a physician’s healing hand. That woman who stood in the crowd waiting for the Lord to pass by, was risking her very life to see Him. She was ceremonially unclean, having a hemorrhage that lasted for twelve years. Shunned and abandoned by her family and friends, she sought the help of every medical professional she could find. No matter what home remedy she tried, the bleeding would not stop. In quiet desperation, she knew her only hope of survival was to reach out and touch the Master Healer. Only He could stop her bleeding once and for all. It was a risk worth taking; a now or never decision. When Jesus passed by, all she could do was reach out and touch the hem of His garment. And in that holy moment of extreme faith, her health was fully restored and she was made completely whole.

Every human being experiences suffering and pain at some point in life. It is a part of the journey. When we bleed out, the life we once knew begins to slip through our fingers. We feel exhausted, isolated and alone. We lose our focus, and we may lose hope. No matter how hard we try, we cannot seem to fix it, mend it, or make the bleeding stop.

If you find yourself suffering with an open wound today, there is hope at the foot of the cross. You may have been hemorrhaging for years, grieving a loss or some pain that has never completely healed; or you may be experiencing an illness or injury that refuses to mend on its own. When we cannot control the flow, it is time to turn to the great physician for help. The master healer can take every hurt and heal it, with just one touch of His holy hand.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

www.songofdeborah.com

Pray for: the bleeding to stop, once and for all. Ask Jesus to heal you today. Reach out and touch the hem of His garment, and experience His peace, as you place your total faith in Him. God promises to dry our tears and restore our lives to wholeness. Are you ready to be made whole?

___________________________________________

© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.