Healing Faith

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Mark 5:24b–34
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Healing Faith
            Many people today battle long-suffering, chronic, and debilitating ailments, and if not, they most likely know someone who does. Suffering can test the faith of the most ardent believer. The woman had suffered for twelve years from a debilitating condition. She had exhausted every medical avenue, yet her condition only worsened. But in the depths of her despair, she clung to hope, a hope anchored in the belief that if she could just touch the cloak of Jesus, she would be healed. To be clear, this woman’s faith was not the main cause of her healing. Rather, her faith was the means by which healing was received from the outpouring of Jesus’ power and grace. She showed that it's not the size of our faith that matters but the object of our faith. Our faith grasps hold of the boundless power of our Almighty God. And Jesus didn't merely heal a condition; He restored a person. The woman received not only physical healing but also peace and freedom from her suffering. Likewise, our faith allows us to place our trust in Jesus; in doing so, we find peace that surpasses understanding and freedom from the chains that bind us.