JESUS WILL by Gary Wilkerson

“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse” (Mark 5:25-26, NLT).

Consider this woman’s desperate situation. Over time her condition had gone from bad to worse. Yet when she heard that Jesus was passing by, “She thought to herself, ‘If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed’” (5:28).

Hidden in her heart was a mustard seed of faith — the kind that grows into a large, fruitful plant. Her faith was so strong that she didn’t need Jesus to come to her; all she needed was to reach out and touch Him. Note the last phrase in her thinking: “I will be healed.” She did not just think, “Jesus can do this if He wills.” She was convinced, “This is going to happen because He is God.” It was rock solid, concrete faith—the kind that believes God for miracles based on His goodness.

Imagine what this woman’s condition had done to her life. Over twelve years she had gone from weak to frail to feeble. Maybe that describes your life. Problems have multiplied, bills have piled up and your worries are increasing. You have seen other people’s prayers answered, but yours seem to fall on deaf ears. Now your heart’s cry is, “How long, Lord? Why should I continue hoping You’ll hear me?”

I love this woman’s faith. Nothing had worked for her, yet she reached out to Jesus with believing faith: “I will either die of this, or my healing will come today.” Her faith was not simply “Jesus can” but “Jesus will.”

As she touched Jesus’ garment, “Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my robe?’” (5:29-30).

Notice that Jesus did not initiate this healing, the woman’s faith did. Jesus Himself said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over” (5:34). Her faith was based on God’s goodness and she declared, “Lord, even if You have forgotten my need, I have not forgotten Your faithfulness.” Her story is meant to tell us we can have the same kind of faith— the kind that says, “Lord, You will.”