The God Who Heals

She trails behind the crowd, uncertain if she should approach. The mass of people surrounding him overwhelms her; she can’t see what he’s doing, where he’s going, let alone hear him speak.

She’d heard the reports about Jesus, amazing reports. Of healing, demon-expulsion, miracles. And Lord, did she need a miracle. It had been 12 years—12 long years of the incessant flow, of her very lifeblood draining from her. And not only that, but her savings, her possessions, her strength, her hope that anything would ever change.

Here, standing before her, was the man they said was a miracle-worker, a change-maker, the one who could cause impossible things to happen—and stop them from happening. This was Jesus of Nazareth.

She catches a slight glimpse of his face, and something strong compels her to move toward the crowd. She inches closer, can see him more clearly by the step—and before she knows it, she’s lingering on the edge of the busy circle.

A man says Jesus is on his way to heal someone’s daughter. So I have this one chance, she thinks. This one opportunity, before Jesus arrives at the girl’s home and disappears inside. Under her breath, she utters her conviction: “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”

Jesus was the one she’d been waiting for for 12 years, but she hadn’t known it until now. Yet here he was, walking before her, standing right in front of her—and she refused to miss her chance.

Mustering all her courage and strength, she picks up the pace and nears him, squeezing between the crowd, one step, two steps, three—

Until she’s right behind him. And touches his robe.   

Does God Want to Heal Me?

We love this Bible story. It’s one of faith, boldness, and power. It reminds us that nothing is impossible for God, that no one is outside the realm of Jesus’ love and care—that Jesus heals.

But if we’re honest, these miraculous accounts of Jesus healing the sick, blind, and lame cause us to wonder, “Why hasn’t Jesus healed me?” We feel like the hesitant woman on the outside of the crowd rather than the one who’s been cured by a touch of his garment.

We wonder if Jesus wants to heal us. And since he hasn’t, we figure we have our answer.

But we mustn’t take this woman’s healing at face value; there’s more to this account than meets the eye—

Does Jesus want to heal you? Read the story again, and see.

Healing Is a Picture

Jesus says to the woman, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34). His answer to our question is the same, if we’ll come to him trusting he can and will heal—though our “disease” looks different than we may think.

We need healing from a sin-sick soul.

Here we see a picture. This daughter’s physical healing illustrates the spiritual healing Jesus performs in those who trust and follow him. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,” David writes in Psalm 103. Jesus’ miraculous healings are physical realities portraying a spiritual one: the forgiveness of sins for those who would otherwise perish.

Does Jesus want to heal you? Yes. He heals all your diseases. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).

Healing Is a Promise

Jesus’ response to the woman also glimpses our eternal future, a final healing through the perfect restoration of body, mind, and soul, when Jesus returns and renews all things. Here we see a promise: What God has done through miracles-past, he will do in our heavenly future. Healing will be our reality.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4). Neither shall there be sickness, nor any need for healing. The woman touched Jesus’ garment, but we will be covered by him, his robe of righteousness clothing us forever (7:9).

Does Jesus want to heal you? Yes. And he will. For those who fear his name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings (Malachi 4:2). For behold, that day is coming; your healing is a promise.  

Healing Is a Possibility

Jesus chooses to heal the sick woman, and Jesus can choose to heal you. Right now, tomorrow, in a week or year or ten years, Jesus has the ability and freedom to declare, “Be healed of your disease.” Jesus can heal, and Jesus does heal. We see such a possibility here.

Think of the man whose cancer cells have disappeared, with no logical explanation or through chemo treatments. Or the couple whose marriage is rescued by a turn of events or change of heart. There’s the infertile wife who gets pregnant and bears a child, and the hemorrhaging woman whose flow stops in an instant at the touch of Jesus’ garment.

Will we come to him boldly as she did? Will we trust Jesus for all, and any, of these things? Will we trust him to do what’s best, according to his wisdom, not ours? And for his glory to be displayed in us, whether or not our requests are granted?

Jesus Is the Healer

A certain man was born without the ability to see, and Jesus said, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Luke 9:3). These “works of God” may include earthly, physical healing—but they assuredly include healing from sin and, eventually, healing from a broken, earthly body. We can trust him for these things.

Does Jesus want to heal you? In this lifetime, it’s possible he does. Like the woman from our story, we’re free to come to him fearfully and expectantly, believing he can, knowing he ultimately will, and peacefully trusting him, no matter the outcome.  

[Photo Credit: Lightstock]