Who Touched My Clothes? Part 2

by Terri Webster

Last week I wrote about a woman who suffered a chronic illness, until she touched Jesus’ clothes while in a mob of people on a dusty road. She was instantly healed.

Her illness had controlled her life for 12 years. She used up all her resources trying to find healing, only to get worse.

If you missed last week’s post, you can read it Here, before continuing.

Do you suffer with a chronic condition?

I do.

A chronic condition is something that persists, is long-lasting.

My personal search for answers to chronic pain has led me right here, where I am today,  struggling to put words to it. I don’t want to say anything cliché or give some lighthearted answer with a Bible verse to back up my answer.

If you struggle with a chronic disease, pain, depression, etc., the last thing you want to read is do this, do that, eat this, don’t eat that or be cured by doing this. The Internet is full with blogs and articles with promises of healing.

Now, I do avoid certain foods, and use more natural forms of managing my chronic conditions, but I want to go below the surface of skin, veins, tendons, joints, bones, blood and cartilage today and look at what Jesus also meant when He said to the sick woman, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Mark 5:34

The day she reached out and touched His clothes, was the beginning of a new life for her. She no longer suffered with a bleeding condition. But a deeper, more personal healing was done because she believed Jesus was the promised Savior.

He called her daughter. Because she believed Jesus was the promised Savior, she now could enjoy His peace and walk in freedom from suffering that went beyond her physical pain to the core of her soul and spirit.

After that life-changing day, we don’t know if she simply went home or followed Him to His torturous death. I can only speculate, but if I had been that woman, I would have wanted to follow my Healer, the One who called me daughter, for the rest of my days on earth.

Many spiritual leaders have told us that we either don’t have enough faith, or there must be sin and unforgiveness in our lives as to why we may not experience God’s supernatural healing. 

If you’re a Believer in Christ, having received His provision for eternal life, He’s already done a supernatural work in you.

While I’ve been asking Jesus how I can touch His clothes today, He’s graciously reminded me of the following that I would like to share:

• He created us specifically and intimately for His purposes. Psalm 139:13-16

For You created my inmost being; 

You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. 

My frame was not hidden from You 

when I was made in the secret place, 

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed body; 

all the days ordained for me were written in 

Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

• Our body doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to Him. The woman who touched His clothes didn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of her like we do. It wasn’t until after Jesus ascended into Heaven following His resurrection, that He sent His Holy Spirit. As a Believer, you and I have the Holy Spirit living within us.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple 

of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have 

from God, and that you are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19

I have good and bad days physically. I’m learning that on my worse days to thank Him for His strength and power that’s inside of me. 

When I simply praise Him for being my strength, something supernatural takes place.

He wows me every time as I experience His strength and vitality that I know doesn’t come from my own abilities.

Like Paul, I believe with all my heart that God can instantly heal me or someone I’m praying for. At times, He has, but never in the same way or in the way I expected Him to.

• That the Apostle Paul had his own personal struggle.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, 

for my Power is made perfect in weakness. 

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly 

about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, 

in insults, in hardships in persecutions, in difficulties. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

If God doesn’t heal me like He did the woman who touched His clothes, it’s not because He can’t or won’t. He has a greater purpose. While I’d be overjoyed to experience complete physical healing, there’s a greater joy in knowing Him and living in His constant fellowship and presence in my life, which surpasses all other things. 

So, in truth, I’ve already reached out and touched Him, and received something far greater than physical healing.

Have you?

Like Paul, I want to forget what is behind me as I strain and press onward toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

Don’t you?

I don’t want to get snagged or become stagnant because of my physical limitations, but rather, experience His joy, peace and rest because of them.

I'm a work in progress. 

Will you join me in following Paul’s example to stay the course no matter what?

I invite you to share below in the comments area your thoughts. 

What are your struggles and victories in the area of healing?

Staying the course,

Terri

Photos courtesy of Pixabay @ www.pixabay.com

Who Touched My Clothes?

by Terri Webster

I’ve been thinking a lot about the woman who was “subject to bleeding” (Mark 5:25) for 12 long years. She suffered so much that she spent all she had on many doctors, with no improvement. As a matter of fact, she became worse.

Her story hits home with me, to my very core. Especially the way the Gospel of Mark tells it. 

We don’t know her name or anything else about her aside from her physical suffering. We’re not really sure what the issue of bleeding was. I assume it had something to do with her female reproductive system. 

Without going into any details, I can imagine what she had endured. Perhaps it caused her to be barren, unable to have children.

Chronic physical suffering impacts mental, emotional and spiritual health. She was desperate.

Is this you? It’s me.

It seems that the majority of women I know suffer from some type of chronic illness. There are too many to name them all, but they have a common base name: AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE. This encompasses everything from every form of painful arthritis, depression and fibromyalgia to Lupus, Sjogren’s Disease, thyroid and many more.

Is this you? It’s me.

Our unnamed friend we meet in Mark 5:25-34, suffered too, with a chronic illness. She was desperate enough to spend all her money on doctors, only to become sicker.

Is that you? It’s me.

News about Jesus had spread and she knew He was passing through her town. She believed all she’d heard about Him. While a large crowd surrounded Jesus, she put feet to her faith and became part of the large crowd following Him through the town...

...while thinking to herself, If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. She must have been stretching her arms out, reaching and groping while being pushed and shoved in the crowd. 

Then, finally, she made contact with His clothes. One hand, both hands, it didn’t matter. She touched his clothes.

Immediately her bleeding stopped 

and she felt in her body that she was freed 

from her suffering. Mark 5:29

Jesus felt it too. He stopped walking. Turned around and asked, Who touched my clothes? Mark 5:30

I imagine her eyes became big as saucers or as we say in the south, “like a deer caught in headlights”. What she thought would go unnoticed in a large, noisy crowd, caught Jesus’ attention.

His disciples even said to Jesus, You see the people crowding against you and yet you ask,‘Who touched me?' Mark 5:31

She stood silently, while Jesus kept looking around, insisting someone had touched Him because He felt the power leave His body.

Finally, our fellow sufferer came forward. Falling at His feet in fear, she admitted it was her, explaining the whole truth.

His response?

Daughter, 

your faith has healed you. 

Go in peace 

and be freed from your suffering. Mark 5:34

Healed. Peace. Free from suffering.

Is this what you want? Need?

I do.

I’ve spent a lot of money on different doctors. Educated myself. Tried everything. I’ve found some relief. But managing chronic pain, while pushing through it every single day is exhausting. It affects my mental, emotional and spiritual health.

You too?

What else is there left to do? How can we “touch His clothes” today?

I believe in His unhindered, healing power. I know Him and His matchless, saving love. He bore all my sin, suffering and pain hanging there on the cross. He was buried, perhaps in the same clothes, our friend touched the day her suffering ended.

Those clothes were divided among His killers.

I can’t stop thinking about this woman and her faith. She was able to physically touch Him. Their eyes met as He spoke directly to her.

Today, we have His very spirit and life living inside us as Believers.

The same power she experienced that day by touching His clothes, lives inside us!

So, how can we touch His clothes today?

It’s a lot to wrap our minds around. I’m not going to suggest a "pat" answer, but stop here. I'll continue next week, while I am still reaching out to Him, putting my feet to my faith.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to share in the comments area below or email me directly by filing out the form on the right.

Staying the course,

Terri

We All Need Help

We all need help in many ways, shapes and forms.

Maybe you need help emotionally.

Perhaps you need financial help.

It could be serious or not so serious.

Marital help.

Mental help.

Help with anger or addiction.

We could all use a little help with simple things, like doing the dishes or more serious like digging out of a deep, dark hole of depression.

Help comes in various forms and from sources we never would expect.

I need help every day, yet I lean toward thinking I can handle stuff on my own.

But the greatest freedom always comes when I say, “Lord, I need help.”

What about you?

Do you need help?

I encourage you to look up. Tell Him. Tell Jesus, you need help today. I know He longs to send His help.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains-

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, 

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

He might send help through a friend, supernaturally through His Holy Spirit, or from a source you could never devise. 

Feel free to share how you've looked up to God to send help when you needed it most. 

As always, if you need prayer or just want to contact me privately, you can do so by filling out the contact form on the right side of the page.

Let's stay the course together by asking for help. 

Terri

Hope While Enduring Sorrow: It's Okay to Laugh Again

by Terri Webster

Sorrow and grief are a relentless pair. When you see one, you’ll see the other tagging along, usually accompanied by pain and loss.

Who hasn’t known sorrow? Who hasn’t known grief? We all have, right? 

When we experience deep loss and sorrow, we may feel our lives are shattered beyond repair. Those events are like seeds that sprout roots, reaching deep into our soul, leaving our lives forever changed.

When I read 2 Corinthians 4:17, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, I struggle a little. My “light and momentary troubles,” haven’t always felt light and definitely not momentary.

Or when I read Psalm 30:5, Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning, I do find comfort in this promise, but, oh, how I wish weeping was only for one night.

Someone you love tragically dies, or your spouse leaves you for another. Maybe you endured childhood abuse, or abuse from someone you trusted. Perhaps a grown child suffers from mental illness or substance abuse, and you wonder if you’ll see them again on this side of Heaven.

Then, one day from out of nowhere, you catch yourself laughing again. ‘Oops!’ You suddenly feel guilty for enjoying a light moment. You feel you’re being disrespectful to the cause of your sorrow and grief.

To consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us, (Romans 8:18), can seem unthinkable. But that’s what we’re encouraged to do.  

And while we’re considering it, let’s also look deep

into Isaiah 53:3-5.

He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, 

acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on 

Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we 

did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; 

it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we 

thought His troubles were a punishment from God, 

a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced 

for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so 

we could be whole. He was whipped so we 

could be healed. (NLT)

Jesus suffered with great sorrow, as He took on Himself, the very pain and grief we experience. He not only did it for our sin and rebellion, but also for what He knew we’d endure in our life here.

We can have hope for our future and experience His joy in light of eternity. And yes, even laugh at the days to come, just like the woman in Proverbs 31:25, She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Here’s the solid truth: Eighty or 90 years of life here, can’t be compared to eternity with Him. But while we’re here, we can gain healing and strength, following a traumatic life event and enjoy genuine joy. We can and will laugh again.

When sorrow tries to creep back into the places Jesus has already touched, I know my perspective needs adjusting. I need to look heavenward and allow God’s perspective to overshadow my short-sighted, human perspective. 

When I do, then I can say, ‘weeping really does last a night, and joy comes in the morning,’ and be encouraged that what I’ve endured here on earth is accomplishing eternal purposes that outweighs them all. 

What about you? How do you find joy again, when sorrow and grief have changed your life forever? 

I pray that whatever sorrows you've known, you'll discover the hope and comfort only God can give. 

Staying the course,
Terri

Photos courtesy of Pixabay.com

Make Plans Now

by Terri Webster

Happy New Year all! The sun is rising on 2019.

I don’t know about you, but this past year was a whirlwind.

At the end of every year, I read back over my journals. It’s incredible to see God’s hand at work in my life and be reminded of the past year’s events. I remember the big ones, but those little things (not so little) that impacted my life, I have trouble remembering.

In past years, I’ve set goals and made personal resolutions. If you’re anything like I am, you might be feeling a little defeated because you haven’t meet your goals or kept the resolutions you’ve made.

Life happens. The unexpected crowds our agendas, interrupting our goals and challenging the resolutions we made.

Today, I’m contemplating how I can start fresh in 2019. There’s

nothing wrong with goal-setting and making resolutions, but this year I’m trying something different and thought I’d share it with you. I’m only making a few short-term plans.

If God already knows the plans He has for me…

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

…then I’m going to prayerfully make my plans. And I’m not making year-long plans, but short plans where I see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Through prayer and checking my heart’s motives, God has revealed simple plans that cover three major areas of my life. 

1. Women’s ministry in the form of a two-month small group soul-care plan. 
2. Following a Jesus Plan Health Plan, instead of the newest and greatest diet and exercise program. 
3. Finish writing my beach novel by making it a priority instead of a side thing. By committing only 15 minutes each day to writing, it feels doable. The beauty of this is, when I sit down to write for only 15 minutes, it leads to 30, then 60 or more.

There are clear instructions in the Bible about making plans. I’m making plans by following those instructions, which are…

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many 

advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

God has graciously provided close friends whose wise counsel I rely on. 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and 

He will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

In the past I’ve jumped ahead of God with my plans. Have you ever done this? It only leads to confusion and hinders His purpose for our life. 

To avoid this, it’s crucial that we spend time alone with Him. Be still with Him, yield and stay immersed in His word.

Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make 

my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath 

I say both ‘yes, yes’ and ‘no, no’? 2 Corinthians 1:17 (NIV)

Saying yes to every opportunity presented to us, without making sure it’s God’s plan, leads to crowded schedules and serious burnout. This is not God’s plan.

And finally…

May He give you the desire of your heart and 

make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4 (NIV)

I’ve made incorrect assumptions about what He means by giving me the desire of my heart. God is a good and gracious Father, who has our ultimate best in mind.

If He’d given me every little heart’s desire I’ve had over the years, I shudder to think where I’d be in my life right now. He knows I’m happiest and most fulfilled when my desire(s) line up with His purposes.

So on this New Year’s Eve, I’m foregoing goal-setting and resolution making and sticking with these simple plans. I feel confident it will keep me on course.

I invite you to share your short-term plans to begin 2019. What works for you?

May He richly bless you today and all year, as you trust in Him.

Blessings,

Terri

The Most Powerful Quiet Moment Ever

by Terri Webster

Jesus entered the world in a quiet moment. 

Only a few were present to hear the birth sounds of a woman in labor, and then His infant cry. While the rest of the world slept, only a few witnessed God’s entry into the world through Jesus’ birth in a barn; the most powerful moment in history.

While people went about their busy days, the Messiah, Savior of all, was nursed, bathed, clothed and raised right under their noses. Because maybe they were too busy to notice.

Some days we can’t avoid the clamor, distractions and demands for our attention, especially during the holidays. To find a quiet moment with Jesus might seem impossible. But it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. It just might be the most powerful moment in your life that day.

Sometimes we fill up our plates in the form of good deeds, service, and must-do lists all in His name, while our hearts and souls are starving. A quiet moment with Him will feed our hearts and nourish our souls, so that we have His power to serve, and meet life’s demands.

Finding quiet moments with Jesus is where my soul is nourished and my heart finds peace, rest and joy. It is where His power and strength become mine. 

It can be as simple as taking 10 minutes in a solitary place where you can focus on Him. Thankfulness and praise will smooth out stress and ease anxiety, as He shifts your perspective. 

Step outside while kids are sleeping or first thing in the morning while it's still dark. Stop on your way home from work or running errands and take the time to be still with Him, setting aside everything else. 

Whatever you do, don't miss those powerful quiets moments with Jesus, during this Season and all year long. He is the One we celebrate.

Celebrating Him,

Terri
photo courtesy: pixabay.com

Out on a Limb Alone: 4 tips to remaining in Christ

by Terri Webster

Do you ever feel like you’re out on a limb? Alone, trying to do it all by yourself?

I’ve actually said in frustration to Jesus, “Lord, I went out on a limb for You. What went wrong?”

Not one of my best moments.

This dilemma can be easily solved.

How?

Jesus said,

I am the vine; you are the branches. 

If you remain in Me and I in you, you will 

bear much fruit; apart from Me you 

can do nothing. John 15:5

Be still. Stay. Remain.

Fruit needs special conditions in order to grow properly and flourish. Water. Sunlight. Nourishing soil. Pruning. All the while this is going on, the fruit just hangs there, remaining.

My job and your job is not watering, pruning and nourishing the soil. That’s the work of Almighty God IF we remain in Him.

It only takes a small amount of time every day to do that.

Here are four tips that work for me to ensure I don’t “go out on a limb” and bounce up and down in the wind and storms of life, only to drop from the vine prematurely.

• Decide: Decide before tomorrow when and where you’re going to be still in His presence. If you have to set an alarm on your phone or put it on your calendar…date with Jesus, then do so.
• Show up: As with any meeting or appointment, don’t go unprepared. Bring with you a Bible, notebook and pen.  
• Ask: Ask Him to speak to your heart. Ask Him anything. He can handle it.

Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything 

through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, 

make your requests known to God and the peace of God

that passes all understanding will guard your hearts 

and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

• Enjoy: Relax and enjoy the remaining. Let Him water you, nourish you and shine His light on you.

If you’re struggling with having time alone with Jesus, I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks on developing a personal alone time with Him.

My prayer for you is that you’ll discover the rare and priceless jewels He has waiting especially for you.

Remaining,

Terri