Have you ever been in a situation so bleak it seemed as though it would never change?
Maybe you had things going wonderfully in your life and all of a sudden you were hit with a severe illness or the loss of a loved one, and you didn’t know how you were going to get through it.
That is exactly what we are looking at in the story before us in Mark 5. This is a story of two very different people. One was a man. The other was a woman. One was unknown. The other was relatively famous. What they had in common is: they both needed Jesus.
Practical Principles
- Where does sickness come from? It was never part of God’s original plan. Because of Adam and Eve’s choice, sin and sickness entered the world. Now we age and we have illness and ultimately we die. Romans 5:12 says, “As sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death came to all men because all have sinned.”Â
- Why does God allow sickness? Here’s a short answer. God allows sickness in our life sometimes to bring us to Him. Another reason God allows sickness is to be glorified through your life as you honor Him even when you’re struggling with the sickness.
- Does God still heal today? God has the ability to heal. God has the desire to heal. Isaiah 53 says, “He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We considered Him stricken by God, smitten, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, and He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.”
- Why doesn’t God heal everyone? God often permits what He hates to accomplish that which He loves. Sometimes our lack of healing is due to a lack of asking. Call out to Him for healing with as much faith as you can muster.
Relevant Reminders
- Jesus can deliver you from whatever you are facing.
- Sometimes God doesn’t move as quickly as we want Him to. His ways are not our ways.
- God’s delays are not necessarily His denials.
- Death is not the end of the road. It’s just a bend in the road that leads to Heaven.
Applicable Actions
Sometimes God heals and it’s a glorious thing when He does. I have seen people healed as we prayed for them and we give Him the glory for times like that. Sometimes God allows the sickness to remain so He can be glorified through it. Sometimes He heals a little more slowly than you would like Him to. And sometimes He just allows your life to follow the natural cycle. The Bible says, “There’s a time to be born and there’s a time to die,” and then were all going to pass into eternity. The Bible says our life is like a vapor of smoke. It appears for one moment and vanishes away. We must focus on what is important in the time we have and do the works God has called us to do, with whatever ability we have.
