In reading through the twenty-four chapters of the Book of Luke between December 1st and the 24th, I have once again been overwhelmed by reading about the miracles of Christ. I’ll confess that while I am amazed by His actions, I am saddened by my own.

I see what He has done, and I see Him at work in my life—yet I neglect to trust Him fully. I find myself distracted by the things of this world which cause me to waver in the kind of faith I want to have.

In Luke 8, the true story is told of a woman who had been ill for twelve years with no relief. Jesus came to town, and she went to see Him. She had undoubtedly heard of His miracles and was eager to experience one first-hand…literally!

In my mind’s eye, the crowd was pushing in on her, and she seemed to know that ducking down low to push her way through them was her only chance at getting close enough to be healed. I can imagine that she reached out—only to have her fingers nearly trampled by those surrounding the Great Teacher. She tried again. This time she reached for all she was worth. She knew that just a touch was all she needed—at least, that’s all it had taken to heal the blind man who lived down the road from her.

This time, her outstretched arm succeeded in its quest: she touched the hem of the robe that Jesus was wearing! Without any word from the Master, she felt the effects of the healing that had instantaneously occurred. However, now she was faced with having to answer His question—“Who touched me?”—in front of everyone. Peter tried to tell Him that it was just the crowd that was pressing in on Him, but He again said: “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

Luke 7:47-48 (NIV) gives us the conclusion to her story: “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.’”

This has been a lengthy post, but I want to share three quick things I learned/am learning from this woman’s faith.

She came with reckless abandon. Nothing else mattered but getting to Jesus. She was willing to drop to her knees and crawl if that’s what it took!

She reached out to Him. She opened her empty, weak hand and persisted until she had received what only He could give.

She revered His power. Her trembling acknowledgement that she was the one who had touched Him demonstrated her reverent awe of His holiness and her respect for the fact that this was the Great Physician. I believe that it is in acknowledging our belief in His power that we receive His power!

However, my three alliterated points mean nothing if I don’t put them into practice in 2012…and beyond. Therefore, I must apply these three principles to my own faith:

*Come to Him in reckless abandon, taking no care for the distractions that come

*Reach out to the One Who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think

*Have a reverent respect (“the fear of the Lord”) for how incredibly awesome and powerful He is

In applying these principles, I will be able to add a fourth “r” by “rejoicing” in all that He does in me, through me, and for me! Oh, how I long for a garment-grabbing faith!

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Thank you for taking time to read “Garment-Grabbing Faith.”

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