Your Scars Are Bleeding

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.” Mark 5:34

There’s a woman in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. We don’t know her name. We don’t know her whole story because neither account of her is very long. But we know that she is important to God because her story is written in scripture.

When I read the verses where she’s mentioned, I can’t help but be moved. I don’t know this woman; I don’t know her full story, but from the depths of my soul, I can relate to her. I can sense her pain. I know her desperation. While I may not be able to relate to her physical ailment, I know her spiritual deficit. See, scripture says this woman suffered from a bleeding disorder. For twelve years, she struggled. It must have been hard searching for healing without end, only to wind up struggling again and again. There must have been times she lost hope, saw a glimpse of it, and lost it all over again. I wonder how many bandages she wore at this point, how many different medicines she had tried, and how many scars she carried.

But, when Jesus entered the picture, something about Him drew this woman in. She must have been going about the normalcy of her day. Maybe she noticed the crowds. Maybe it sparked a curiosity in her to wonder who this man was. Maybe she was desperately searching for the right concoction to heal her ailment while the crowd drew denser and denser. Maybe something in her spirit began to stir, causing her to stop searching for what the world had to offer and turn to her Savior.

Whatever it was that caught her attention, she knew Jesus was the answer. She knew her healing could only come through Him. So she pushed her way through the crowd, certain this was her only chance to be healed. She fought with all her might, her knuckles clenched, white. Her body trembling, knowing He was within reach. Her breathing shallow. The crowd pressed into her, the weight of people around her. She desperately slipped through any opportunity of passage she could find.

Until she saw Him. Until she recognized her chance. I wonder if she plunged through the crowd, falling on the feet that crowded around Jesus, stretching her arm with all her might, knowing healing was just a few short inches away. Desperate for just His Hem.

Then the moment came that changed her life forever. Her Savior healed her. At that moment, her hope became complete. Not only had she found the One who could heal, but she found the one who healed her.

And this is where my heart cries out.

The account in Mark says that Jesus turned to one of his disciples and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” Already certain of the answer, He searched the crowd to acknowledge her. He knew her desperation, He was aware of her faith, and He intentionally took the time to meet her face-to-face. 

She had a chance to run. She had the chance to remain silent. She was already healed physically, but Jesus sought her to offer her more. She already ran to Him with her body, but was she willing to throw her heart at Him too?

She had a decision to make, and she chose the Truth. Scripture says the woman, in fear and trembling, knowing He had healed her, came to Him, fell before Him, and in truth, confessed it all to Him.

This is where her true healing occurred – when she professed it all to Him. When she let go of every thought, fear, and ounce of doubt that tormented her and confessed the whole truth of her situation to Him. She was hurting, she had tried everything, and she carried scars. But she let them all go when Jesus met her and locked eyes with her. She fell at His feet, desperate to give it all up and trade it for the unrelenting grace He had to offer.

And He healed her. It wasn’t the woman’s actions that healed her. It was His power, but she had to be willing. She had to lay it all down before Him. She had to have faith that Jesus would do the work.

I don’t know this woman. I don’t know her whole story, but from the depths of my soul, I can relate to her. I can sense her pain. I know her desperation.

You see, I have been this woman. At times, I still am this woman. I eagerly fight through the lies this world wants to feed me, fighting with all my might, my knuckles clenched, white, gripping onto His Words in scripture. My body trembling, knowing His Truth is within reach. My breathing shallow, ready to hear His Truth spoken to me – spoken over me. I can feel the pressure of this world pressing into me. I can feel the weight of the lies the world wants to tell me and I desperately slip through any opportunity of passage I can find. Frantically I just want to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe – desperate for healing and knowing it can only come through Him.

I’ve lived life with my fair share of emotional scars, scars that can continually bleed. And at times, I have searched for anything the world has to offer to heal them, but what the world has to offer has only left me feeling hopeless.

When Jesus entered the picture, He gently drew me in as if He was looking past the crowd, past the pressures of this world, to search specifically for me, meeting me face-to-face, looking me in the eyes, and whispering gently to me, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

Just. Have. Faith. That’s all we can do. That’s all I can do, so that’s what I choose. I choose to walk in faith. I choose to let go of every thought, fear, and ounce of doubt that has tormented me in the past and confess the whole truth of my situation to Him. I choose to trade the lies, the hurt, and the scars of this world for the unrelenting grace that Jesus has to offer because He is the only One who heals. He is the only Truth that can set me free. And it’s by His works that I am restored, renewed, and refined.

When you search for Jesus as you white knuckle your way through the lies this world wants to feed you, desperate for His healing, He’s sure to meet you there. He’s sure to pinpoint you in the crowd. He’s sure to lovingly address you above all the noise and distraction trying to pull you away. Nothing can stop you from getting to your Savior, and nothing will stop Him from noticing you.

So run to the truth, my friend. Don’t stop until you reach the Savior. Grab hold of His hem, cling tight to his Truths. Desperately seek His face. Confess to Him the whole truth of your situation. When you do, the lies will begin to fall away.

Through Jesus, your scars no longer have to bleed. Through His Truth, you are set free. You are healed.

-Brittany