It's the day for you to Hear the word "Daughter"
God loves us as daughters, and there is a profound story in the Bible that exemplifies this love.
This story is about a woman who has been known only as the woman "with" the 12-year health problem, the "issue of blood." You can find her story in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48.
Her condition caused her more than daily physical pain; she also faced financial hardship, having spent all her money on doctors who could not help her.
Perhaps her greatest grief was the emotional pain of daily social rejection. Under Jewish law at the time, women who bled were considered unclean and were not allowed to be touched or included in gatherings. They had to isolate themselves until their bleeding stopped.
This woman had endured this isolation for 12 years. Imagine going without a hug, or an invitation to someone's home for dinner, for that long. It's hard to comprehend the depth of her pain facing daily isolation and rejection.
Yet, we learn that she heard about Jesus.
The name of Jesus draws us when we are desperate, and it drew her to risk her life. She pushed through the crowds until she saw Him. Her act of touching others and being in the crowd could have justified her being stoned to death, but she kept pushing through. With her head down, she saw the hem of Jesus' cloak and dived for it. This was her only hope; either touch Jesus and be healed or face being stoned to death (Mark 5:27-28).
Her faith released healing power from Jesus, causing Him to stop and turn around. He asked, "Who touched me?" This question caused the woman to lift her head and look at Jesus. He looked into her eyes and called her "daughter." He told her that her faith had made her whole. Not just cured, not just healed, but whole.
This declaration that she was called a "daughter" was made before she was healed physcially , it was for the crowd to hear, it was for all those who had ever rejected her to hear, and mostly for her to hear. She knew no rejection or shame from Jesus or from God in Heaven in her condition. She wasn't an outcast to God. The word "daughter" was who she was.
Jesus healed her soul. She was no longer labeled an outcast. Her true identity was "daughter," declared by Jesus, the King of Kings. She was healed of emotional hurt and the daily rejection by others. Jesus healed and made her whole physically, her incurable medical condition was gone forever.
Jesus healed her and made her whole socially. She could now live a life with family and friends (and hugs!).
Jesus healed her and made her whole spiritually .She now had a life given to Jesus, to worship, adore, and follow for the rest of her life, and to tell others of God's goodness so they might follow Him too.
Never give up. Keep trusting God, no matter how big or small your troubles are.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) says: "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Today, look up and see Jesus.
It's the day to hear the word "daughter."
x Linda
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