Tag: devotion

Unclean

Mark 5:27-29 (NIV) 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.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Did you know that in the old testament, if a person was ritually unclean (which means they had a skin disease, discharge of bodily fluids, touched something dead, or ate an unclean food), they could not touch or approach another Jew?  If they did, it would cause them to be unclean too. The woman in Mark 5 was ritually unclean.  She had been bleeding for 12 years!  She had spent all her money on doctors trying to stop the bleeding, but they didn’t help. In fact, the Bible says, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors.” 

Can you imagine what her life must have been like?  She could not socialize with anyone in her family, any of her friends or go out in public. She was broke and she was in pain.  She must have felt lonely and depressed.  So, when she heard about the man they called Jesus healing people, she probably thought, “I’ve got to go see if he can help me too.”  But she had no money and she wasn’t even supposed to be outside in the crowd.  How would she convince Jesus to help her?   Despite all these doubts she went.  She had faith.  She went into the crowd, reached out and touched his cloak.  The courage this woman showed is unbelievable.  She left the safety of her home and reached into the crowd for her last chance to be saved.

How many people in your life are feeling the same way?  They are lonely, depressed, broken, and afraid but despite all these feelings (or maybe because of them) they are there reaching out for Jesus to save them.  How much courage and faith does it take for them to take that first step, to reach out?  You know, we are the physical hands and feet of Jesus today.  So, when God sends someone to you, at church, at work or at the gym, that needs a little Jesus, be ready to help them encounter Him.  

Lord, I know you are working in the lives of people all around me.  Please open my eyes and ears so that I recognize your plan and can be ready to help them encounter you.  Amen.

My Plans For You

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Most people have heard this Bible verse before but probably do not know the context of the passage.  This was part of a letter that Jeremiah, a prophet, wrote to the surviving people from Jerusalem that had been exiled to Babylon.  The letter was a message from God to His people (people just like you and me).  In a nutshell, God wanted His people to know that even though they were living through a difficult season, they should not stop living.  He encouraged them to build houses, plant gardens, get married and have children.  Carry on.  Keep living.  Even though their life was not perfect, He said to keep living it.  God even said they should pray for Babylon because if it prospers, they will prosper too.  God wants them to prosper because he is going to bring them back to Jerusalem one day.  Then He says it.  “For I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Did you hear that?  God has plans for you.  Through every season of your life, He has a plan.  When you feel abandoned, lost, helpless, or tired, like the people of Israel did, He has a plan.  When you face struggles, fears, sorrows or disgrace, He has a plan.  You may not be able to see the plan but it is there.  And the plan is good because God is good.

So how do you get through the hard times?  How do you survive the difficult season? The key is to lean into God during those times.  Jeremiah 29:13 (two verses later) says that “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all you heart.”  So when you find yourself in that season and things are weighing you down, keep on going, lean into God, seek Him through His word and keep on living.  Build a house, plant a garden, get married and have children.  And when you come out on the other side, the plan will be clear.

Lord, thank you for being with me through the good times and the bad.  Thank you for loving me enough to have a plan.  I have faith in you and I know that no matter what, you will bring me through this season of my life.  I love you.  Amen.