The word “faith” and the concept of faith often get a bad rap. It is often spoken about as if faith were a jump into darkness, into the unknown and untrustworthy, an act of sheer stupidity. But the kind of faith that Scripture speaks about is not like this at all. In the book of Hebrews is speaks about faith as being the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It is substance and evidence, hardly nothing.
Our text picks up the account of a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. She hears about Jesus and comes, touches and is healed. She has substance, the things she heard about Jesus. Perhaps she had even met some of the people Jesus had healed, evidence.
She did not arrive in the crowd and look around and say to herself, “Who in this crowd of unknown people should I go up and touch and hope I get healed?” This was not a random act. This was a deliberate seeking out of the substance and evidence in the person of Jesus.
In fact, Biblical faith is always faith directed toward the LORD. He is the object of the trust. It is never a jump in the dark. It is jumping into the loving, caring arms of the redeeming Savior.
Jesus has now found the object of His search, the woman who touched His garment and received healing. She had slipped away back into the crowd. He has sought her out with His eyes. She returns and throws herself at His feet and tells her story.
Jesus in response tells her that her faith has healed her. It was not faith shot in any and every direction, but faith directed and acted upon toward Jesus. She touched Jesus’ garment and was healed. She sought Him out. She had heard and she reached out based on what she had heard. And now she has been healed.
Jesus brings her out of the crowd for a reason. She needs more than physical healing. She needs restoration to the community. And as Jesus says these words, the community hears them. She is healed. She now goes in peace and doesn’t have the suffering that has enveloped her life for all these years.
Restoration happens best when it is done in community. Faith doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Faith happens as we act together. Who are the people who are part of your community of acting faith? What are you doing that requires you to rely more heavily on the grace of God?
The Arnold Journey 