She Told Him the Whole Truth
Have you ever held back in prayer, thinking you might just stun our Lord Jesus with your details or with your inner most thoughts? This past week, I was listening to a lesson on this very familiar story of the woman with the “issue of blood” in Mark 5 and one statement struck a hard chord in my heart…She told Him the whole truth.
She was caught up in a crowd she wasn’t even supposed to be in. Her medical condition of “an issue of blood” would have rendered her, and anyone who touched her, ceremonially unclean.
But yet, there she was in the throngs of people who had gathered around Jesus because His fame had spread throughout the area. She tried to stay discrete, unseen. Unlike blind Baritmaeus who shouted out to Jesus from the roadside for healing (Mark 10:47), her’s was a private issue that would require her to subtly and secretly approach Him.
Her one and only goal this day was to find a way to touch the hem of His garment. This she knew – if she could just touch it – she would be healed from 12 years of unexplainable bleeding. Something no doctor and no amount of money had been able cure.
Her moment came.
She reached out with trembling hands and touched the edge of His garment. Miraculously and instantaneously, she was healed. “Who touched my garments?” Jesus suddenly asks. The disciples response was incredulous. Didn’t Jesus see this crowd and He expected them to know who touched the hem of his garment? No, there was no stealing this healing…Jesus knew power went out from Him.
The one thing this nameless woman was trying to avoid was now chasing her down in the street – ATTENTION. She was scared to speak, she was scared not to speak. In great fear and trembling, she fell at Jesus’ feet “and told Him the WHOLE truth”. (Mark 5:33)
In my mind, I wonder how many details this woman shared with Jesus. Maybe her whole truth started with the very first doctor who ever took her money but didn’t offer any solutions. Or maybe her whole truth began with how she could not be part of the community because of her health issue (Leviticus 15). She handed over all her hurts to the Healer that day.
In that moment, Jesus turned her shame into a showcase of grace.
Her secret act of faith was now known to all. She was already healed, but Jesus told her to go in peace. Peace…something this woman had not experienced in many years. (Mark 5:34)
What a great place for us to start too, friends. What shame is holding you back in your life? Reach down and find your courage, grab hold of the hem of His garment, and let His power flow through you. Tell Him your WHOLE story – don’t hold back the details.
Physical healing is wonderful. But mental healing, many times, comes in confessing to Jesus all the thoughts that have been tormenting us. Tell Him the WHOLE TRUTH. Then, we too, can go in peace.
