The retired, always-friend neighbor invited the seven-year-old into his garage for a piece of candy.

Melissa walked into that garage an innocent, trusting girl and walked out scarred.

His demeanor changed in the dark recesses of that garage, and she believed his threats. When he told her to come back the next day, she did.

Even as an adult she felt it was her fault—even her choice. That’s what he told her, and that’s what she came to believe. She spent many years trying to heal herself, or just make herself feel better. She perfected the art of wearing masks. However, on the inside she felt completely unworthy of any good thing.

How can you celebrate success or any good thing if you feel “less than?”

How do you heal when a thief steals your heart?

It’s in the power of Jesus’ healing touch.

Not so easy when touch is the last thing you want from anyone. 

In Luke 8, a crowd presses around Jesus like the paparazzi. Jesus stops. “Who touched me?” He asks (v. 45).

A distraught woman is in the crowd. She has bled for years and doctors haven’t made her well. In her culture, this condition makes her a social outcast in her own community. She is desperate. She has heard the stories of Jesus and presses in to touch the hem of His garment.

What an act of exquisite hope!

The moment she touches Him, the blood stops flowing.

Jesus stops, and asks, “Who touched me?”

It seems like a ridiculous question to most, but she knows the power she felt when she touched the hem of His garment.

He must have felt it, too.

The Power of Jesus’ Touch

Let’s stop right here for today. Let’s soak in what just took place.

Virtue (definition): Effective force or power.

Christ speaks of virtue leaving him.

Matthew Henry, a respected theologian says, “It was his [Jesus’] delight that virtue was gone out of him to do any good, and he did not grudge it to the meanest; they [the woman and others in the crowd who were desperate ] were as welcome to it as to the light and heat of the sun. Nor had he the less virtue in him for the going out of the virtue from him for he is an overflowing fountain.”

Read that quote one more time.

• It delighted Jesus for the power of healing to move from Him to this woman.
• His touch was healing and powerful.
• Jesus did what no doctors could do.
• His healing power is an overflowing fountain.

What does that mean for you?

Jesus is delighted to heal you.

His touch is not harmful, but healing.

He welcomes you.

There is not brokenness so great that Jesus can’t heal.

What took place in the life of that woman generations ago is still for you today.

When the woman, who lived on the fringes of humanity because of a condition she didn’t want and didn’t ask for, kneels in awe at Jesus’ feet, He lifts her up.

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace (v. 48).”

This is where we’ll pause until tomorrow. I don’t want you to miss the power in this beautiful story. 

1. Read pages 137-138 in The Mended Heart.

2. Read Luke 8:40-48.

Q: How do you identify with this woman?

Q: Why is Jesus’ response in verse 48 so significant?

Q: What did this woman need from Jesus?

Q: What do you need from Him today?

See you tomorrow.

Suzie