As I am on this journey to grow in my relationship with God, one thing has been made very clear to me. Simply going through what I deem to be the steps to get closer to God doesn’t guarantee anything. I can ready my Bible, pray, and go to church and still miss out on so many things God has for me.
In the fifth chapter of Mark, there is the passage of the women with the issue of blood. For twelve years she had been dealing with the disease. She is part of a crowd around Jesus and believes that He can heal her. She touches his clothes and is healed. Jesus asked who touched him, and his disciples think he is crazy for asking.
“And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ “”
Mark 5:31 ESV
All these people were around Jesus. Many were probably touching Him. So much so that the disciples thought it was ridiculous that He would ask who touched Him. Yet out of all these people, only one received healing. I’m sure there were plenty of other needs in the crowd. I’d be willing to bet that some of those people even touched Jesus. Yet they did not receive the same thing as the woman did. They had access to everything that Jesus had but missed out on it all.
I don’t want to crowd around Jesus but not receive what He has for me. There have been so many times I’ve read my Bible and then walked away as if it was just another book. There are many church services that I’ve been a part of that were just part of my Sunday routine. There have been many times that I’ve been near Jesus but missed out on what He had for me.
I want to be like the woman that stepped out in faith. I want to step out in faith when I read the Bible, knowing that it has the power to change my life. I want to step out in faith when I pray, knowing that God hears my prayers and will answer them. I want to step out in faith in all that I do. If I am just a part of the crowd, I may appear close to Jesus, but I will be missing so much.
until next time…