“A certain woman ... had an issue ... twelve years, and had suffered many things ... . when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment . ... and He said unto
her, daughter, thy faith hath made
thee whole; go in peace.”
Mark 5:25-3425And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (Mark 5:25‑34)
What do you see when you look back over the past? Many failures? I do. Perhaps as you read these meditations you are like Josiah. In 2 Kings 22, he was presented with a copy of the Word of God. He had never read it before, and he was so overwhelmed with the failures he had unknowingly made that he rent his clothes. God said to him, “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself ... I also have heard thee” (vs. 19). Or maybe you are more like Manasseh, on the other hand, who had willfully disobeyed God all his life. In 2 Chronicles 33 he repented and humbled himself greatly, and “God was intreated of him” (vs.19). God gave both men the joy of forgiveness and the joy that comes from obedience.
What happens to us when we realize what a mess we have made of our lives? What happens when we realize we have not been the wife God wanted us to be? When we repent and change our ways, God forgives us! We cannot change our husbands, but God can bring healing through our obedience. Although we may still live with some of the consequences of our past actions, our God is a forgiving God, a God of second chances. In Mark 5 God tells us the story of a woman who had had an issue for 12 years. Undoubtedly she had much less energy than when her problem began. Undoubtedly her family had been impacted. But when she came to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Omnipotent Healer, He made her completely whole again and granted her peace. Our God forgives, and He is a God of second chances. It is never too late to come to Him in repentance and submission and start following His plan.