God’s Reaction to the Messy Just Might Surprise You
To listen to today’s Deeper Devo click HERE.
Devotional Scripture: Mark 5:21-34
Key Verse: “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Mark 5:34
I don’t care who it is, if I know someone’s stopping by my house—I tidy up. I can’t help myself. Almost without thinking I’m throwing pillows back on the couch, blankets back in the basket, and grabbing a broom so I can quickly get lunch off the kitchen floor.
The thing is, allowing others to see my mess just feels weird. If I’m caught off guard with piles of laundry on the floor and a dirty bathroom (Hi, I have boys), it’s a wee bit uncomfortable (no pun intended). Perhaps that’s why we love social media so much. Revealing only the best parts of our lives is nice, while showing the real me is a risk I’d prefer not to take.
Is it rejection we’re most afraid of? Is that why we stuff and hide, retreat, and clean up? There is nothing wrong with cleanliness by the way—it’s good to do the best we can. But what about when we can’t clean up? What about when life is just too messy (and I’m not talking bathrooms anymore). If allowing people to see our homes is hard, what about allowing people to see our hearts? Doubts, fears, mess-ups, and struggles—are we humble enough to show our stuff?
Sometimes even admitting who we really are to God can feel weird. Though He sees all of us already, coming to Jesus by way of clutter can feel wrong. But honestly, that’s the only way we can come to Jesus—in true surrender and in need of a Savior—just like the bleeding woman in our story today.
Unclean, Unclean—Get Out of Her Way
We saw her briefly last week as we followed Jairus on his faith journey. (Click HERE for more about Jairus.) The Bible doesn’t tell us her name. We only know her as the woman who had bled for twelve years. The woman who had tried everything, spending all the money she had, yet still she got worse and not better. I wonder, how many times had she been hopeful only to be disappointed?
This poor woman, her plight was not small. According to the Mosaic law she was unclean because of her bleeding (see Lev. 15:25), and unclean people weren’t allowed at the temple. Furthermore, unclean people weren’t allowed around people. So essentially it had been twelve years since she’d seen, participated, or been a part of anything having to do with God—including the ability to offer atonement for her sins.
Anywhere she went she was supposed to yell, “unclean, unclean” so people would know to stay away from her. Meaning it had been twelve years since anyone had been allowed to touch her. Can you imagine? I’m not sure I really can. We might live ostracized due to our own habits and decisions, but no one has ever told me I had to live that way. How big was the ache in her soul? How much did she loathe her life?
If she had a husband, it’s likely he had long divorced her. If she had kids, it’s likely they had nothing to do with her. And if she had neither I can only imagine the sorrow spilling over her insides when she saw mama’s with babies and husbands with wives. Talk about messy, right?
Why me? Why does this have to be my life? (Ever been there?) In every sense of the word this woman was an outcast.
If Only She Could Get to Jesus
But here’s one thing I love about our friend: she didn’t give up. After hearing reports about Jesus (v. 27) she made up her mind that if she could just get to Him—if she could just touch His garments—she would be healed. Jesus was her answer.
There’s a confidence in her pursuit of Christ that Jesus will soon reference as faith. She would not be deterred by societal expectations. She would not succumb to fear (at least not yet). Her only hope rested in the Person of Jesus Christ. She believed the works He had done and believed if He could heal others, then He could heal her too.
Oh for that kind of spiritual drive in our lives, right? If only I can touch Jesus today. Can you imagine the stories we’d have to share if that was our daily goal? Friends, there is no greater pursuit than the pursuit of Christ.
Wedging her anemic body through the thick crowd, making everyone she touched unclean in the process, she reached for a piece of His garment. Got it! “And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease” (Mark 5:29).
It was done. All those years of struggle and it was over. Talk about relief! Talk about joy and exhilaration and a moment she will never forget. Yet as quickly as she flew to the moon in elation, so did she sink into the sand with dread. When Jesus, unwilling to let her miss the blessing of truly encountering him, stops and asks, “Who touched my garments?” (v.30).
Oh no.
It’s Never a Mistake to Come to Jesus
Unable to hide, she fesses up. “It was me. I touched you. The dirty one. The unclean one. The one no one wants to be around. The one unsuitable for worship. The one who hasn’t been to church in twelve years.” (My paraphrase.)
Embarrassed, ashamed, exposed, and fighting the urge to run and hide—to cover up again—I’m picturing our new friend with her head down ready to take the punishment due her. Ready to bear the scrutiny of making Jesus, along with so many others, unclean.
But Jesus never condemns faith. I love verse 33. It says falling before Jesus she tells Him the whole truth. Here I am Jesus, mess and all, do with me as you will. So what does Jesus do? He calls her daughter.
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34).
Her messiness didn’t matter. Her background didn’t matter. Her uncleanness didn’t matter. Not to Jesus anyway. Not to the one who came to make all things new again. With Jesus’ ability to present us as holy and blameless before the Father, we don’t need to hide from him—we need to go to him!
In His presence there is grace, and in His Person, there is acceptance. It’s not scary to bear our mess in front of Jesus—it’s sanctifying. Finding ourselves bent low before Jesus, sharing the whole truth, is the safest place we could ever land.
There is Healing in the Presence of Jesus
It doesn’t matter how old you are or your status in life or your mess ups or your past—Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Look at the opposites in this story between Jairus and the bleeding woman:
Jairus is a synagogue ruler, while the woman is unable to even get close to the synagogue.
Jairus is wealthy, while the woman has spent all she has.
Jairus is a prominent member of society, while the woman is unable to even be part of society.
Jairus has a daughter whose been healthy and loved for twelve years, while the woman is a daughter who’d been unhealthy and unloved for twelve years.
Yet Jesus brought healing to both. So why are we so insistent on staying away from Him? Jesus isn’t bothered by the messy because Jesus already took care of the messy.
So go ahead my friend, in faith and surrender, bring your mess before Jesus. Bring your striving and your doubts, bring your fears and your failures, bring the whole truth, and then listen closely for the moment He calls you daughter.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
Contemplate and Evaluate:
Have you ever told Jesus the whole truth?
Why is finding ourselves bent low before Jesus the safest place we could ever land?
What is the result when the bleeding woman tells Jesus the whole truth?
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Cover Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash