6th. November. 2020. Daily Devotion.
A HUNCH AND A HOPE
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered round him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’ 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed round him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned round in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’
31 ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, “Who touched me?”’
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’ Mark 5:21-34
Maybe all you have is a crazy hunch and a high hope. You have nothing to give. But you are hurting. And all you have to offer him is your hurt. Maybe that has kept you from coming to God. Oh, you’ve taken a step or two in his direction. But then you saw the other people around him. They seemed so clean, so neat, so trim and fit in their faith. And when you saw them, they blocked your view of him. So, you stepped back.
If that describes you, carefully note one person whom Christ commended … for having faith. It wasn’t a wealthy giver. It wasn’t a loyal follower. It wasn’t an acclaimed teacher. It was a shame-struck, penniless outcast— [a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years]—who clutched onto her hunch that he could and her hope that he would.
Which, by the way, isn’t a bad definition of faith. A conviction that he can and a hope that he will. From He Still Moves Stones. ML
Jesus doesn’t seem particularly interested in performing an impersonal miracle. Power short-circuits from his body and – after twelve years of suffering and shame – this poor woman is instantly healed. Hallelujah! But immediately he swings around, needing a name, scanning the crowd for a face, seeking the dignity of a personal encounter. All too often we want Jesus for his power, but he only wants us for ourselves. In this age of facemasks, hand sanitisers and elbow bumps, his priority is touch; facial recognition; the connection of a deeper relationship. In this time of isolation people need connection more than ever. Thinking through the day ahead, ask the Lord to put particular people on your heart to call. To give you opportunities to smile and wave to those you might pass in the street. To help you love and listen to those you meet – even if it’s only online. Pause and pray, “I name before you now Lord those known to me who are self-isolating, asking that this may be a season in which they go deeper in their relationship with you.” Amen
Morning Prayer
Lord, I come before you today and I thank You for all the blessings that You have given me. Many times, my life is so full of busy work that I neglect my relationship with You: for that I am sorry. I know that You never neglect me, for if You did my very life would cease to be.
Continue to pull me to Yourself, guide me in my journey, and hold me close in Your bosom until the day I come home to be with You forever. Be with me, and with those who pray with me, for although we are in different places around the world, we gather spiritually in Your name. May we feel your presence among us. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen.
To Remember God During the Day
Dear Heavenly Father, I lower my head before you and confess that I have too often forgotten that I am yours. Sometimes I carry on my life as if there were no God, and I fall short of being a credible witness to You. For these things I ask your forgiveness.
And I also ask for your strength. Give me a clear mind and an open heart so I may witness to You in my world. Remind me to be who You would have me to be regardless of what I am doing or who I am with. Hold me to You and build my relationship with You and with those You have brought into my life on earth. Amen.
