Feeling for You

The woman mustered all of her strength in stretching out her aching hand towards her only hope of healing. And with one touch, a current of life-giving energy and health pulsed through her body and restored her frayed nerves and pale flesh. He had been healed by faith! But the odd thing about the story of Jesus’ healing of the woman on the way to Jairus’ house is that it took so long for everyone to realize that it had taken place. This woman’s life had been miraculously, triumphantly healed and she was the only one celebrating until Jesus called attention to it: “‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’” He wanted to call everyone’s attention to this woman’s joy. And up until that time she had tragically been suffering her own private pain. She was just one of the masses to the crowd, who didn’t realize the agony she had been through and her desperation for healing. In the Desire of Ages, Ellen White states, “Our confession of his faithfulness is heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgements to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christ-like life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls.” (Desire of Ages, 347) People passing by may seem like a everyday, ordinary sight, but remember that each person holds a unique world of hurts, triumphs, doubts, heartaches, joys and other experiences. If we could gather all the experiences of all those we meet on a daily basis, think of the gigantic tapestry of stories that would result. And many of these experiences have been tragic. Just like the woman who was ill, they may be harboring burdens that we can’t see, but are very real and cry out desperately for Jesus’ healing. Empathizing, putting ourselves in the shoes of those we come in contact, as Jesus did with the woman who was healed, is what Jesus calls us to do as His disciples. And a big part of sharing people’s burdens is by sharing how Jesus has helped us out of our own personal struggles through His healing power.