Day 76
Matthew 9:20-22 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.
Again, we see the power of the touch of Jesus–how He, with just a touch, can heal us of all infirmities, afflictions, addictions and, yes, even possession by demonic forces. There are a couple of interesting points that I feel bear mentioning today regarding both the miraculous things of Jesus and the commonly thought of as not so miraculous. For one, when it comes to the healings and miracles that people received, the very common thread is that they were seeking Him, and in most cases they were asking for the miracle. If the Word of God is careful to mention that people sought out Jesus for the miraculous, can we then assume that we, too, can seek God for the miraculous in our lives? Generally speaking, either the people needing the miraculous or those who were caring for them sought out the Messiah; they didn't wait at home holding a pity party because Jesus had neglected to stop by. They or someone close to them took the step of seeking out the one who could rescue them from their affliction. In this case, an unclean woman with the issue of blood went against everything that society would say to her and literally took her life in her hands just to touch Him–all because she knew she had no other hope than Jesus. She didn't even feel worthy to ask Him to heal her; after all, again, she was unclean.
When we are desperate for a touch from the King, we, too, need to reach out, seek out, and do whatever it takes to receive a touch from our Savior, whether we feel worthy or not; after all, none of us is worthy except by Him and His blood. I believe that the enemy has succeeded in a number of ways of keeping us from receiving the miraculous things of God, and it's high time we start partaking in what is, by His will, ours to receive. You see, when Jesus went to people, it was to instruct, rebuke, or call to service, but when believing people sought out Jesus, it was for the miraculous. For many, the thought of asking Jesus or God for anything seems appalling. After all, He's God, and who am I to assume that I have the right to ask for anything? That would be lie number one. I have yet to read in the Word where anyone who believed in Christ, sought Him out, asked by His will, and was willing to obey was turned away empty handed. Lie number two: "He doesn't do miracles today." The greatest of all miracles by our standards is the raising of the dead, so are they saying that after Jesus went to the cross no one else could be saved? That would be an out-and-out lie and an affront to the truth of the Word of God; it would, in every way, negate the purpose of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In addition, I would defy anyone to tell me, or anyone else who has experienced a miraculous healing from God, that He no longer does the miraculous. Someone did it, and whom would they have us give glory to? Lie number three: "Only the pastor or priest can pray for you." If that is the case, why weren't the Pharisees the ones performing miracles? Why then did Jesus say that His blood shed for us was the new covenant in Luke 22:20? Why did He say in Luke 14:6 that "No one comes to the father except through me"? Am I saying that Jesus is waiting at our beck and call to do our bidding like a puppet on a string? Of course not! But, what I am saying is read Matthew 7 again–ask, seek, and knock–our God wants to bless us with a loving open and intimate relationship, and the one standing in the way of preventing it is not Him. Our answer is not in the pastor, the priest, or our mentor: our answer is in Christ. The others are simply people whom God has placed in our lives for direction and accountability. Seek Him first!
Daily Prayer: Father, help us to respect you, fear you, love you, and serve you, and Father, teach us how to ask by your will and to receive by Your will those things that You desire to bless us with. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
"A step toward God will never result in pain, yet it will always lead to restoration."
Pastor Gene Burroughs
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