Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Matthew 9:20-21
New Living Translation
I’m sure that many of you have heard the story about the bleeding woman several times. It’s easy to understand that physically she suffered great pain. However, did you realize what she went through emotionally?
Since she was considered unclean, she wasn’t allowed to be within the city streets. She couldn’t touch a man, which meant she could not get married. If she ventured into the city and someone discovered her condition, she would likely be yelled at and treated harshly.
To get to where Jesus was, she had to go inside the city. She had to go where she would risk being emotionally hurt once again.
Are you willing to risk becoming vulnerable just to get to Jesus? See, often we get so caught up in our image and not wanting to be seen as weak. However, to get closer to Jesus, we have to put ourselves out there. Sometimes the things Jesus needs us to do can take us out of our comfort zones.
It can be scary to step out in faith and leap head first into something God asks you to do. Maybe you don’t see the finances working. Maybe you don’t see how you could lead others. Maybe you just don’t see the whole picture.
Just remember, the bleeding woman couldn’t see the whole picture. Her only thing she had planned was getting close to Jesus so she could touch Him. She didn’t plan how she was going to get there or what she was going to do afterwards. We don’t even know anything about her life beyond her healing.
Maybe you don’t know what’s up next but you do know what you need to do. You need to work hard to get close to Jesus so that you can get to what Jesus has for you.
