Deliberate Faith

Luke 8: 46            NLV

But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”

Come on, somebody shout! Man, I don’t know if I can write today’s Word of the Day because I am so excited about this. What is Jesus saying here?

Do you know this story? There was a woman who, for twelve years, suffered with a hemorrhage and none of the physicians were able to help her. However, having heard about Jesus she kept saying to herself, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well,” (Mark 5: 28). So, although there was a large crowd around him, pressing in on every side, this woman determined that she would touch him and she believed that as soon as she touched even the hem of his garment, she would be healed. She, therefore, pressed her way through the crowd and managed to touch the fringe of his garment. As soon as she did, the hemorrhage dried up and she was healed. Jesus said he felt power go out from him and wanted to know who touched him. His disciples scoffed remarking about the crowd that swamped them. No, Jesus told them, this was different, “Someone deliberately touched me.”

So, what was it about this woman that caused her to be healed? The scriptures record Jesus as saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well,” (Luke 8: 48). There is a huge revelation in this story if we can mine it out of here, because if we understand what happened here, we can reproduce the result over and over again for ourselves.

First, we need to understand that Jesus didn’t heal her. Don’t believe me? What did he say? “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” So, it was her faith. Second question, what was her faith in, or perhaps whom? She had heard about Jesus and how he was going about healing people so she, apparently, had faith that there was healing power on him or in him. But look, she didn’t need him to pray for her, lay his hands on her or even be aware of her presence. She had a point of contact built up in her mind. It would have still worked if she said, “If I can get within three feet of him, I will be healed.” It was a point at which her faith was released. Just look at the Roman soldier. Jesus didn’t have to go to his house for the man’s servant to be healed. He just asked that Jesus speak the word. That soldier’s point of faith was in Jesus’ word. Jesus replied to him, “‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment,” (Matthew 8: 13).

Alright, think about this. 1 Peter 2: 24 reads, “By His wounds you were healed,” but Jesus had not been wounded and striped yet. Come on, let that preach to you! What is going on here?

Did we not see verse upon verse from the Old Testament about healing? Jesus is the incarnation of the Word and he never deviated from the Father’s intent. Yahweh had healing in His wings thousands of years before Jesus graced the earth. What does that mean to us? What difference does it make?

The point is that God always had healing available to us. Jesus came to earth teaching and demonstrating. He was here to teach us how to walk in the earth, not to make it harder but to make it easier for us to gain everything the Father has for us. I am telling you that this river of blessing and healing is running through you and imprinted on your DNA. The woman in the story had simply made up her mind that she was going to get healed and Katie, bar the door, because she didn’t care who was between her and Jesus. She intended to touch him and be healed. Jesus said someone touched him deliberately. He was being bumped and crowded on every side, but he recognized when determination reached out to him and drew on the healing power of God. He felt it. Glory to God. That woman has the same Father we have. She was less entitled to healing than we are, yet it worked for her. I think we just need to be more stubborn and more determined. I am making up my mind today that I am going to be healed. I am not going to accept brokenness, injury or sickness in this body, which is, after all, the temple of God. How about you?