Mark 5:27-28 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
“Perseverance” is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
Statistics say that only 16% of the people bounce-back from a major failure. Perseverance and resilience are not just “bouncing-back” but “bouncing-forward” with better understanding, laser focus and deeper grit.
Jesus commended a woman who pushed her way through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment for healing. She not only went back healed but also went back honoured for her faith and perseverance. This woman suffered from hemorrhage not for a few months, 1 year or 2 years but for 12 long years. There was not a doctor in the neighboring towns who had not treated her. She must have tried allopathy, homeopathy and gynecopathy but only left with the sympathy from the physicians. Doctors can only treat but healing comes from Jesus. Yet after spending all her resources, exhausting her wealth, fixed deposits and lifetime savings she heard about the Miracle Man named Jesus.
She must have done some research about Jesus and the power that emanates from His garment before she dared to step into a crowded street, as she was unclean. 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). Since she was not allowed to appear in public, she decided that she would secretly touch His garment, receive the miracle and slip away. Jesus did not stop to acknowledge the multitude that were healed by touching His garment but He stopped to applaud this woman’s perseverance.
If our prayers and pleading have not fetched the answer, healing or breakthrough, God is neither angry nor is He ignoring us. Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and pray in the Spirit. God has not missed it we have!
God honours perseverance:
- Bounce-Back: Don’t cower. Stand up at once.
- Bounce-Forward: While you stand up, pick up some valuable lessons that will help you to move forward.
- Buoyant: Don’t sink back into the past. God rewards buoyancy.
Perseverance is to bounce-forward.
Prayer: Dear Holy Spirit, give me strength to persevere and impart wisdom, prudence and discernment to bounce-forward. Amen.
Leave a Reply