In Bible study, we've started reading the Gospel of Mark. This week we looked at chapter five. While there is a lot of interesting material in that chapter, a few things stood out to me.
Jesus was going about his business of freeing, healing, and reviving people and therefore attracting a lot of attention. A man asked him to heal his sick daughter, because he believed that if Jesus would lay his hands on her, she would be well again. On the way, surrounded by a crowd, a woman had the courage to approach him and touch him, seeking healing as well. She believed just touching his garment would be enough to heal her of the disease that she had for many years.
I was really impressed by this woman with the bleeding problem. She had tried absolutely everything she could think of and given more than she could afford to be healed. She faced the scorn of being unclean--rejected by her community. But she still had faith and hope that motivated her enough to take another risk. Granted she didn't have much to loose, except face yet another disappointment. I admire her courage. Similar the man he was with got news that his daughter had died. He could have given up, admitted it was too late, but they continued and were amazed. This morning I got together with fellow laborers to pray in light of the verse, "Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened." How often do we get discouraged or afraid that God won't follow through so we keep our prayers small and vague. We don't hope for the impossible. We don't reach for Him. We don't give Him our last ditch effort. If we don't, we will never experience the peace, the amazement, the joy when our suffering is over and when we get what we want most. I didn't realize how closely tied faith, hope, and risks are.
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