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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
While women in the Bible waited, they also experienced a result—in God’s time. There are other women who waited in the Bible, and although we don’t always receive a depiction of their feelings, we can step into their shoes for a moment and imagine how they would feel. One of the most overlooked stories of waiting is in the book of Luke.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
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” (Luke 8:43-48).
Let’s consider this woman—she bled for 12 years. Her physical health was ailing. She was likely very uncomfortable and tired.
She spent all her savings on physicians. We don’t know if she was well off, but we do know she was experiencing financial hardship due to her condition. Was she fearful? Anxious?
In her time, this condition was considered unclean. She could not worship in the temple. It is likely she could not marry and was not around other family. She was isolated. Was she sad, angry, lonely, hopeless?
What we do know is she had great faith. She knew Jesus was a great healer, and he was compassionate. Jesus would not care that she was touching him, while others had deemed her unclean. To Jesus, she was perfect and loved as his child.
In her healing, let’s now imagine her feelings. Joy, relief, gratitude? While we don’t know about what she did next, one can imagine her praise for how God had delivered her from her struggles.
When God delivers you from the waiting, how do you respond? Are you giving him glory and praise? Earlier this week we talked about waiting as a noun. But waiting can also be an adjective, meaning, we can be active in our waiting!