²7When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. (Mark 5:25-34)
One of the ingredients of faith is determination, which is defined as “the power to make choices, set goals, and to act upon them firmly in spite of opposition or difficulty.” This woman was determined. She had already spent years and all of her money on doctors, yet nothing had helped. She was actually worse. Most people would have just given up, but this was one determined lady. She heard of Jesus and knew that she would receive her healing through Him; but when she found him, she encountered yet another obstacle: a multitude thronged Him.
Jesus was hemmed in on all sides by a crowd of people that were pressing in on Him. She was a frail, sickly woman. How could she ever make it through that crowd? On top of all this, the woman’s issue of blood made her unclean. She wasn’t supposed to be in public because she would defile them. If someone recognized her and revealed her uncleanness, Jewish law allowed the crowd to stone her to death. But she would not be deterred.
She crawled through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. Crawling was the only way she could have done this. In a crowd that dense, she could not have bent over and grabbed the hem of His garment. She had to be on her hands and knees. This woman would have done anything to get her healing!
Most people wouldn’t do what this lady did. They wouldn’t go to all that trouble. They wouldn’t put their lives in jeopardy by being in a crowd that might stone them. They wouldn’t get on their hands and knees and crawl through a throng of people. And they probably wouldn’t get healed either. Most people lack her determination.
What stands between you and what you need from the Lord today? Make sure it’s not your lack of determination.
