Morning by Morning, February 24 - Desperate Determination for an Encounter with Jesus Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the heart of my heart and in the middle of every moment of my day. ... In these days of revival, of a new awakening in America, of people pressing into Jesus in desperate spiritual hunger for a deeper encounter of the Presence of God, I’m reminded of the woman “with the issue of blood” (Luke 8:43 KJV). She was desperate for an encounter with Jesus and she let nothing get in her way: “But as (Jesus) went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. “And Jesus said, ‘Who touched Me?’ “When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, ‘Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ “But Jesus said, ‘Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.’ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. “And He said to her, ‘Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace’” (Luke 8:42-48 NKJV). There’s so much to see in this story, so much to embrace in our own story of pursuing Jesus. But the main thing I seeing this morning is her desperate determination of persistent, persevering faith. She wasn’t just sick and wanted to be well. She had had her “issue of blood” for twelve long years. And under the Law, her condition made her “unclean” -- which meant unwelcome, unseen, unworthy, unable to be in the presence of other people and participate in a normal life (see Leviticus 15:25-27). She could have been severely punished for coming out in public to come after You. So her faith was full of risk. She was risking everything in her desperate determination, in her persistent, persevering faith. My good friend John Bennett and I were just talking about this last night at our home group. And he was telling me something I’d never seen before. When the woman “touched” the hem of Your garment, she wasn’t just sneaking up to barely brush Your clothes. The word in the original language that is translated as “touched” is a much more powerful, even aggressive word (Luke 8:44). It’s the Greek word “haptomai” and really means “to fasten one’s self to, adhere to, cling to.” She was taking hold of You with passionate faith -- fastening herself to You, adhering to You, clinging to You. No wonder that even though You were being “thronged” by the crowds, it was this one woman who got Your attention. You stopped everything. You turned to her and gave her Your full attention, just as she was giving You her full attention in her passionate, persistent, persevering faith. The power of God in You responded to the passionate faith in her. She trembled in fear, maybe in fear of what might happen to her now that she was exposed as someone who was not satisfied to sit back or keep hidden away or holding back. But You saw her and spoke to her. You honored her for her faith and her persistence before everyone. Your perfect love cast out her fear and healed her body, as well as her heart and soul from her twelve long years of pain and shame and poverty and everything else that she endured until that moment of her encounter with You. She was made well. She could now go in peace, filled with fresh joy and good cheer. Lord, give us that kind of passion to pursue You -- not even just seeking a “touch” from the Lord, but pressing in, taking hold, risking everything for an encounter with You in a desperate determination to settle for nothing less. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My friend, may you be filled up and stirred up with a desperate determination for an encounter with Jesus--reaching out to Him in passionate, persistent faith, taking hold of Him, clinging to Him, settling for nothing less than Him, in Jesus' name. God bless you! Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries Mailing Address: 412 S. Adams Street #148 Fredericksburg, Texas 78624
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