Faith Gives!

Faith Gives Dignity, Affirmation and Blessings. 

Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” What a promise! 

Mark 5:30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 

Mark 5:33-34 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Jesus could have said, “Woman! Are you trying to make me unclean?” This is the same Jesus that when He was speaking to His mother, instead of saying mother, He actually called her woman. But Jesus’ response to this woman was very different and we must learn from it. Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Amazing! With that response, Jesus did three huge things for this woman. 

Firstly, Jesus called her, Daughter not woman, not lady. In calling her daughter, Jesus gave her dignity. Jairus came to Jesus interceding for his own daughter but this woman had no one to plead her case. The statement Jesus was making to this woman in other words was, ‘You are my own daughter. Just like Jairus cares for his daughter, I will care for you because you are mine.’ With just the opening word in His response to her, Jesus gave her dignity. This same woman who had been an outcast for twelve years, the Son of God referred to her as His “daughter”, as family. With just one word, Jesus sorted out her identity. From being a nobody to becoming the daughter of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You need to know that God calls you His own - dignified! 

The second thing Jesus did was to affirm her. “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Wait a minute! Was it not Jesus’ power that healed her? It was, yet Jesus did not say, ‘My power has healed you’. He said, ‘Daughter, what you did made a difference. Your faith counts and it has made you whole. You are important and your contribution to this healing miracle is recognized by heaven. You are affirmed!’ [paraphrased]. Jesus gave her identity which lead to her dignity and He affirmed her. 

The third thing Jesus did is, He blessed her and gave her a blessing. Similar but different. He said, “Go in peace. Your suffering is over!” God is saying to you today, go in peace, you are free from your suffering. Dignity, Affirmation and a Blessing! As you reach out to Jesus in faith, you will receive your dignity, affirmation and blessing directly from His mouth. Child [son, daughter], your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over. [paraphrased].

Who or what else have you been looking to for dignity, affirmation and blessings? Your identity, child of God, is in your Father. Look to Him for dignity, affirmation and blessings!