Your Issue Has An Expiration Date
Yesterday, one of my friends had a conference, and I was blessed to be one of the speakers. There were six speakers all together, and we spoke on six women from the Bible. I was assigned to speak about the woman with the issue of blood.
[Just in case you have forgotten the story, or haven’t read it in a while…her story is in the Books of Matthew 9:20–22, Mark 5:25–34, Luke 8:43–48.]
When you have time, go back and read her story from all three Books. It’s the same story, but with different perspectives.There was so much in that story that I didn’t have time to really dig into. Let me tell you…this story is transforming. When you read between the lines, you see that her faith was strong in spite of her circumstances.
This woman bled continuously for 12 years. That’s right…12 years straight. When I studied that text for my message, I realized how impossible it would be to live like that without the help of the Lord. She didn’t know if or when she would ever stop bleeding, and yet…she never gave up.The thing is…we all have that same kind of faith living inside of us. We are just too afraid to believe it.
What I learned is that our issues have an expiration date.
God has a way of working everything out for our good. He knows exactly what we need when we need it. He has ordered our steps and everything that happens to us is getting us to where He needs us to be. I don’t know why this woman had to endure what she did for as long as she did. I don’t know why any of us have to endure the things we have to endure. But this is what I know…God has a reason, and He has the answer.
Maybe it was so that we would learn that He is the God of the hills and the valleys. Maybe it was so that we would learn that we can endure anything as long as we lean into Him. Maybe it was so that we would learn to love one another no matter what state we are in.
He is with us through the good and the bad times. His promise is that He would always be with us. That even when we turn our back on Him, He will never turn His back on us. He loves us, and sent His Only Son to the cross to prove it.
This woman went to all the doctors she could find, spent all of the money she had, and nothing worked…until Jesus showed up. And with one touch…He. Changed. Her. Whole. Life. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What that says to me is that…no matter what anyone says, I will put my trust in Him, because He will never give up on me.
In the end, she was no longer the woman who had an issue…she was the woman who was healed.
Until next time…
Be blessed