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In Mark 5, we read the account of a healing that occurs when Jesus was on the way to a healing. As the scriptures record, Jesus was headed to the home of Jairus, a synagogue leader whose 12-year-old daughter was sick. A crowd of people followed Jesus (Mark 5:22-24). In the midst of that crowd was a woman who needed what only Jesus could give.
Mark 5:25-29 (NIV):
25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.
26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
As I think of that woman pressing through the crowd, I am reminded of what Apostle Paul said about Abraham in Romans 4:18. He said: In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be” (ESV).
To believe against hope is to have hope even though everything suggests that there is no reason to hope. For the woman with the issue of blood, with each doctor visit she likely had hope to be healed. She spent all of her money seeking a cure. Yet, the bleeding continued. It would seem that she had no reason to hope. But she did. She heard about Jesus. Jesus was the hope upon which she could believe.
The woman pressed through the crowd and positioned herself to encounter Jesus. She came up behind Him and touched his cloak (Mark 5:27). Immediately she was healed. Her longing was fulfilled.
As believers, we must know that God loves us. And out of that love, God has given us help in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit keeps the fire of hope flickering on the inside of us so that, even when it looks like there is no reason to hope, we can still hope that God will come through for us. That God will provide for us. That God will heal us. That God will deliver us. And so on.
The woman with the issue of blood had every reason not to hope. She had, after all, seen many doctors. But she heard about Jesus and her hope was activated. She positioned herself to encounter Jesus and she was healed.
May we always know that, no matter the challenge, no matter the number of setbacks or disappointments along the way, we can believe against hope because our God is faithful. We can believe against hope because our God loves us.
Proverbs 13:12 states: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (NIV).
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domain.
