2022-05-25
Luke 8:48 NKJV
The Bible says: ‘Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years… touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped… Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden… she declared… she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately’ (v.43-44, 46-47 NKJV).
There are three important lessons for us in this story: 1) Recognise and then seize your moment of opportunity. This woman realised that Jesus was visiting her town and was determined not to miss the chance she had. There are ‘God moments’ in life when we have to rearrange our priorities, overcome fear, and rely on our faith to ensure we don’t miss God’s best.
2) Be willing to try a different approach. Because of the large crowd, the woman couldn’t get Jesus’ attention, so instead she touched the hem of His garment, and was healed. Many times, faith calls for stepping into the unknown, doing something we’ve never tried before, and discovering God’s grace at work in ways we never expected.
3) Set an example for others to follow. Until this time, no one in Scripture had been healed by touching Jesus’ garment, and this woman’s faith opened a door for others to follow her example. ‘People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed’ (Matthew 14:35-36 NIV).
God looks for people who are willing to break with tradition, or the ‘normal’ way of doing things. And when He finds them, He uses them to unlock new dimensions of His power so others can be blessed and made whole.
Heb 9:1-11:16; Matt 12:15-21; Ps 97; Pro 12:1-3
Luke 8:48 NKJV
The Bible says: “Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years… touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped… Jesus said, ‘Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.’ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden… she declared… she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately” (vv. 43-44, 46-47 NKJV).
There are three important lessons for us in this story: (1) Recognize and seize your moment of opportunity. This woman understood that Jesus was visiting her town and might not be back. There are “God moments” in life when you must rearrange your priorities, overcome your fear, and exercise your faith. If you don’t, you will miss God’s best.
(2) Be willing to try a different approach. Since she couldn’t get Christ’s attention because of the crowd, this woman touched the hem of His garment and was healed. Many times, faith calls for stepping into the unknown, doing something you have never done before, and discovering God’s grace at work in ways you never expected.
(3) Establish a precedent for others to follow. Until this time, no one in Scripture had been healed by touching Jesus’ garment, and this woman’s faith opened a door for others to follow her example. “People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” (Matthew 14:35-36 NIV).
The fact is, God is looking for people who are willing to break with tradition. And when He finds them, He uses them to unlock new dimensions of His power so others can be blessed and made whole.
Soul food: Heb 9:1-11:16; Matt 12:15-21; Ps 97; Pro 12:1-3
2022-04-09
Ezekiel 36:26 NIV
When you have been hurt, it’s easy to put up barriers. But be careful – a protective shell can turn into a “heart of stone”: resistant, unreceptive, impenetrable even to God.
One Christian author writes: “The only thing more painful, and with… more serious ramifications than a broken heart, is a frozen one… Paul warns us [about]… allowing our hearts to harden. ‘They are darkened in their understanding… separated from the life of God… due to… hardening of their hearts’ (Ephesians 4:18 NIV). A soft heart is not weak or naive. To the contrary, wisdom, experience, and faith make for a strong heart, weathered by compassion and seasoned with mercy. A hardened heart is not protected, it’s merely encased in injury, and it is painfully obvious to everyone but you…
After a weekend that felt like one painful test after another, I called my best friend in tears. ‘Why won’t this end? How strong does God want me to be? I can’t take it anymore!’ Being a godly woman… she replied, ‘Perhaps it’s the other way around. You have been strong enough. God wants your heart to be soft and open.’ I hadn’t thought of it that way.
In response to heartbreak, betrayal, or shame, it is… easy to develop a heart of stone. We think this will protect us from… more pain. The problem with stone is… it feels nothing – no pain, but no love. It is a trap that feels like self-preservation, but it is actually self-destruction. [God] wants to give you a heart of flesh. With His love you can emerge from a painful season of loss with a heart that is yielding, porous, and ready to receive the gifts He has… for you.”
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 25:1-7; Pro 10:1
2022-03-02
James 5:17 CEV
Right after his greatest victory, Elijah became so depressed that he reach his breaking point and asked God to take his life (see 1 Kings 9:4). He had just called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, when he went from exhilaration to exhaustion. And it happened very quickly. We forget that even when we’re successful and love what we do, it can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Exhaustion made Elijah lose perspective. He had just defeated 850 false prophets (see 1 Kings 18:19), and now he was running from one woman: Jezebel.
We can often find that exhaustion takes the place of faith. It can distort our thinking and make us forget God’s power and His promises. Mental fatigue combined with physical exhaustion is a draining combination that can bring hopelessness and create the illusion that we have no options.
Fear made Elijah isolate himself. Leaving his servant in Beersheba, he went into the wilderness and told God, ‘I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me’ (1 Kings 19:10 NIV). When we’ve reached our breaking point, it isn’t the time to isolate ourselves. It’s a time when we need to reach out for God and the people who love us and can help us get back up. Even Paul needed help. After writing, ‘[In] Macedonia, we…found trouble all around us…fighting on the outside and fear on the inside,’ he added, ‘But God, who comforts those who are troubled, comforted us when Titus came’ (2 Corinthians 7:5-6 NCV).
When we’re approaching our breaking point, let’s try and remember to reach out to our encouragers, and most importantly, to God.
Exo 13-15; Luke 12:35-48; Ps 66:13-20; Pro 6:23-25
2021-12-12
Philippians 1:9 NLT
When we find ourselves in a crisis, having the right attitude makes the difference between despair and determination. Here are some steps to take: 1) Look for ways to use the experience for something positive. Resilient people use their experience to help others. ‘[God] comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them’ (2 Corinthians 1:4 NCV).
2) Check your priorities. ‘Teach us to use wisely all the time we have’ (Psalm 90:12 CEV). How would you like to spend your time differently now? Who would you most like to spend it with? How can you use your strengths in the service of what is important to you? What kind of person would you want to be?
3) Believe you can overcome. A crucial aspect of resilience is faith that God will bring us through the crisis. Even if we have the practical skills to deal with it, we still need to lean on God’s strength to keep us going.
4) Step out of your comfort zone. ‘Keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.’ Learning something new, like a foreign language or a sport, or trying a new hobby, can help build our confidence. Embracing the unfamiliar strengthens our capacity to handle new situations. The more we ask of ourselves, the more resilient we’ll become.
5) Clear the weeds that are choking your optimism. When we start thinking pessimistic or cynical thoughts, we need to step back and reframe our perspective. And the best way to do that is to consult God. Talking to Him about the problem helps us gain insights into His perspective and discover the steps we need to take towards the solution.
Eccl 11:7-12:1; Ps 39:4-13; 2 Tim 4:6-8
