Faith makes God move. Have you noticed? Have you seen your faith move God? Don’t get me wrong, God does not need our faith to make things happen, but we see all over Scripture that God often moves in response to the faith that we display.
On Sunday, in Mark 5 we saw two different people whose faith motivated them to seek Jesus out and demand his attention, both convinced that he was their only answer. The first, a synagogue official named Jairus, actually told Jesus that he believed that Jesus’ hands were the thing that would heal his daughter who was on her death bed. The second was a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. It is easy to understand her desperation. 12 years is a long time, and if I had been plagued that long, I would’ve been willing to try almost anything to find relief. Here is what they had in common: they both saw Jesus as their answer, and they both were willing to do whatever it took to get within his proximity, confident of his healing ability.
Jesus did not need these people to fight through crowds to receive their healing. He could have done it from anywhere, with or without their knowledge, but he loved their faith. I can imagine the gleam in his eye after the woman touched his robe and he began to inquire about who had touched him. We can hear the audacious tone of the disciples as they are like, “Jesus, you’re in a crowd. At least a hundred people have touched you.” I wonder if his face looked stoney as he said no and began to make eye contact with the woman. Or was he compassionate as he looked deep into her and declared her well? Did he get a kick out of himself as he decided to just allow her one touch of his robes to provide her with the healing she so desperately wanted? And what about poor Jairus as this was happening? Was he impatiently huffing, trying to get Jesus’s attention in a subtle way until his friends came to say that his daughter was gone and that he could leave Jesus alone? Did he look at Jesus with fearful eyes that asked if it really was too late? Did his faith remain intact as he ignored his friend and took a step toward Jesus? I imagine Jesus chuckling as he said he was still coming over to have a look at her, knowing that everyone was in for quite a surprise.
Jesus was moved by these people, by their desperation, by their desire for him and he responded to their faith. In fact, he gave them exactly what they were asking for. So here is what I am asking myself, and maybe you will find yourself asking the same thing: What am I desperate for? What is the thing that I am confident that only Jesus can be the answer for? And what changes do I need to make in my heart and life so that I can faithfully pursue Jesus until he answers me? Jairus and the woman literally tracked Jesus down, potentially stalker-style, to hear these words, “your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”