“Help for the Hopeless”
Luke 8:40-48 1/30/05; 10/26/14
Have you ever felt hopeless? Have you ever felt completely helpless in an impossible situation? If you have - maybe you can understand what this woman in our Scripture was feeling. She had an incurable disease. For twelve long years, as many years as the little dead girl had lived, she had been going from doctor to doctor to find a cure. While Jairius’ daughter was growing up, laughing and playing, and delighting her father, this woman was desperately going from doctor to doctor. But the sad result was that no one could heal her.
Can you almost feel her pain? Every day, for 12 long years she lived with this thing. Every day for 12 years she had to change the bloody bandages. Every day she had to live with the sights and smells and weakness of her problem. Every day she mustered up a little hope to go on. Every day she prayed - and nothing happened. Every day she was on the lookout for someone new that offered her a little hope - and every day she was disappointed.
I can imagine her on her way home from another disappointing check-up, head down, fighting tears, lip trembling - and then she is swallowed up in a sea of people. She asks someone “what’s going on?”
And they tell her “Jesus, the great Healer is passing through town!”
Her head lifts up, she picks Jesus out of the crowd, and something about Him inspires hope in her heart. Was it His kind face and gentle eyes? Was it the aurora of authority about Him? Was it the way everyone respected Him and talked about Him? We don’t know. But we do know this woman found the faith to push her way through the crowd to Jesus.
Have you ever tried to push your way through the crowd to get to someone? I have, and it isn’t easy. You have to be determined to do it. This woman was. She made her way through the mob, only to find Jesus surround by a bunch of big, husky fisherman. She couldn’t bull her way past them. But her faith kicked in and she said to herself, “If I can just touch Him; if I can just touch his clothes - I will be healed.” And she was!
I’ve thought a lot about this incident. It is such a wonderful story of faith and hope and healing and Jesus’ power. It has a lesson for all of us. We may not have an incurable disease like this woman, but we have experienced her desperation; her hopelessness; her need for a miraculous touch. We have all experienced a time we have been desperate for a loving, gentle touch from Jesus.
I have found that our greatest blessings often come after our greatest desperation. The greatest healing often comes only after our greatest hurt. Our greatest delivery comes only after we realize how great is our bondage. Our greatest joy often comes after our greatest sorrow.
That knowledge ought to influence how we look at our problems and trials and pain. It is in the midst of our darkest night that we need to believe that “joy comes in the morning. It is when we are facing our biggest problem that we need to get ready for our biggest solution. When we are at our weakest –our greatest strength is just around the corner.
The spiritual truth is that our greatest blessings come after our greatest desperation. Before this woman’s blessing; before she realized her heart’s desire- was, first of all, the endurance of pain. I don’t know how much pain she was suffering. I can only imagine at how much pain Jairius was suffering. I know I would be tremendously hurt if anything happened to one of my kids or grandkids. We usually just don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. We take things for granted. I know I did. I took my health for granted - until one day I experienced the tremendous pain of having my chest cut open and my heart worked on. The pain was so great that I just wanted to die - but they wouldn’t let me!
As I lay on that hospital bed, all alone, in incredible pain - I felt like hell couldn’t be much worse. Of course it could and is - but I felt pretty bad. But from that endurance of pain, came an appreciation for my health that I never had before. Every day I thank God for my health. It’s wonderful to be strong and healthy and to feel good. Every day is a blessing, but I didn’t appreciate it until I had to endure pain.
This woman also had to 2) endure the shame of her disease. It wasn’t as bad as the lepers of Jesus’ day. They were ostracized and shunned. They were humiliated. When people approached them they had to yell, “unclean! unclean!” When they got too close, people would throw rocks at them to drive them away. They daily lived with and endured shame.
Have you ever lived with shame? Maybe you did something you were really sorry for. Maybe alcohol or some other drug was involved - but you were embarrassed and hope no one ever finds out about it. Maybe you were falsely accused - and there was nothing you could do about it. You just had to endure your shame. We have all done things we are ashamed of - but the Good News is that God loves us and wants to forgive us of all our shame. He simply asks that we face it and admit it to Him. The Scripture says,
“But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” 1 John 1:9
Did you get that? He will forgive us and cleanse us from ‘every’ wrong. Not just the acceptable sins or the ‘sanctified’ sins. He can be depended on to forgive us from every wrong. Our part is to humble ourselves and confess that sin to Him. Confession does our soul good. It builds us up when we stoop to admit our wrongs and faults and sins. Pride goes before a fall - but God exalts the humble in heart, the Word of God says.
The Bible says that endurance is a part of our growth process. Paul writes,
“... that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.” Romans 15:4 (NET)
“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. We consider those who endured to be blessed...” James 5:10-11 (ISV)
“How blessed is the person who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised those who keep on loving him.” James 1:12 (ISV)
The woman in our Scripture had to go through a time of just hanging on - just patiently enduring her burden - before she experienced blessing. She endured pain. She endured shame. But there was another important factor in achieving her blessing. That was 3) to trust in His Name. She had to come to a place where she called on the name of Jesus. It wasn’t verbal. It wasn’t maybe even a conscious act. But spiritually she came to a place where she put her faith in the name of Jesus. The Scripture says,
“It is his name, that is, by the faith of his name, that has healed this man whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.” Acts 3:16 (ISV)
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:13-14 (ISV)
“... at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” Phil 2:10 (Living)
There are a lot of people who endure pain and endure shame - but they never quite put their faith in the Name of Jesus. And consequently they continue in their terrible situation. Some don’t want to humble themselves and admit their fault. Some put their faith in their own ability. Some simply have no hope and no faith. Some turn to worldly means for help. Some turn to medicine or drugs or alcohol or fortune tellers or friends - anyone but Jesus. But if you want to experience blessing in your life, believe on the name of Jesus. Put your faith in the power of His name.
There was one more thing this woman did that we need to imitate and emulate. She allowed Jesus to 4)reign. Trembling, she came to Jesus and fell at His feet. He was her King. He was her Savior. He was her healer. I don’t know for sure if she became one of Jesus’ disciples that followed Him from town to town. I do believe that nothing was the same for her. I believe that she made Him her Lord and followed Him all the days of her life.
You see, to get the full blessings of God, we need to allow Jesus to reign in our lives. Jesus said,
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt 6:33 (KJV)
“And anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life.”
Matt 19:29 (Living)
We aren’t smart enough; we aren’t strong enough; we aren’t experienced enough, to rule our lives. We always get ourselves in trouble. We make the wrong choices. We say the wrong things. We do the wrong things. Fortunately, the King of kings is patiently waiting for us. He is standing nearby with an invitation. He says,
“Come to me and I will give you rest--all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke--for it fits perfectly--and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens." Matt 11:28-29 (Living)
John wrote, "Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.” Rev 3:20 (Living)
Jesus waits on us to realize our need and to come to Him. He is always there. He is constantly knocking. It’s just that sometimes we get too preoccupied; too self-centered to hear. Sometimes we even, on purpose, shut His voice out. We want to do our own thing and go our own way. We think it will be good - but deep down we know what He tells us is true. If we go this way it will end in destruction.
Jesus is so good. If we accept His invitation, if we allow Him to reign - it will result in eternal joy. But before the blessings we must 1. ‘experience the pain’, we must 2. endure the shame’, we must 3. ‘trust in His Name’, and we must allow 4. Him to reign,” - and when we do that “nothing will ever be the same. This woman’s life was forever changed. Nothing was ever the same. But first she had to become desperate for Jesus.
Are you desperate for Jesus? Are you hungry for Jesus this morning? He is only a prayer away. A prayer of repentance to open the door to your heart to enable Jesus to come in – goes like this:
Dear Jesus, You know the pain I have experienced; you know the things I am ashamed of – and yet you love me anyway. Thank you, Jesus. I put my trust in you right now; right here. Please come into my life and make things new. Lead me. I will follow. Forgive me and cleanse me. Please reign in my life from this moment on.
