Reach Out and Touch the Lord

For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Mark 5:28

Mark 5:24-34 tells us about a desperate woman. A woman who the Bible tells us had been sick for 12 years. She had spent every penny she had and seen many physicians. She wasn’t the slightest bit better but in fact was getting worse. She was at the end of her rope. She had lost it all paying physicians that couldn’t help her. She was alone, sick and discouraged. BUT…the Bible says in verse 27, when she had heard of Jesus.

She heard about Jesus and hope came alive. She found new courage and the strength to press in. The crowd was large that day, so much so, she couldn’t even get close to Jesus. But it was her faith, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) that pushed her forward. It was her conviction that all she needed to do was touch the hem of his garment. She knew it was His presence that mattered and her responsibility was to draw near to Jesus. She was right. Jesus told her, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Greg likes to sing an alter prayer song that goes like this:

Reach out and touch the Lord As He passes by, You’ll find He’s not too busy To hear your heart’s cry. He is passing by this moment Your needs to supply. Reach out and touch the Lord As He passes by.

The song says, You’ll find He’s not too busy to hear your heart’s cry. Did you read Mark 5 slow enough to realize that when Jesus stopped to heal this woman, he was on his way to help someone else? He was headed to Jairus’ house because his daughter was sick and dying. While Jesus was stopped someone from Jairus’ house came to him to tell him his daughter had died and not to bother the teacher any longer. What? Don’t trouble Jesus? He wants to hear your heart’s cry. Nothing is ever hopeless. He sympathizes with us in our problems and weakness and He is the source of life. We can’t be “made whole” without touching Him. The woman was healed and Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead.

Jesus was passing by and they both reached out to Him. He supplied their every need. Touch Him today. His presence is what matters.

Pastor Julia Scott