Shades of Grey: Touching The Hem of His Garment

"As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
⁴⁷ 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. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”Luke 8:40-48

You are the bleeding woman.  Imagine HIM walking by you.  Imagine the faith and the emotion rising up in you as you see Him.  For so many years, you have concentrated on the dirt at your feet, afraid to look anyone in the eye.  You shuffle, wanting to be small, wanting to disappear, wanting the world to leave you alone and stop hitting you with the arrows of judgment.  But, here, in this moment, you dare to look UP and see a man who passes you by, crowds pressing in around Him.  He is close enough to touch but laws, traditions, and  judgment barricade you into your own little world.  

 But, wait, as you glance His way is that hope you feel rising up in you?? Hope that had laid dormant for so many years, as the bleeding continued and as you were ostracized and made to feel unclean…HOPE?  In you? Yes, YES!!  Your heart begins to awaken with the small tremors of hope that ripple over it, as you view this man who can perform miracles.  Your heart seems to catch onto His heartbeat…it quickens, a smile plays at  your lips.  You hand reaches out to Him, your heart dares to believe in Him…..but you can not get close enough to touch Him.  You are pressed in on all sides, being crushed as people clamor to get closer to Him.   Pressed in and oppressed by the laws of your people and your condition.

Were you pushed, did you fall, were you overlooked and cast aside again?  Your not sure- but you find yourself laying in the dirt, with feet all around you.  Your heart panics, did you miss Him??  Is He gone??  Oh, just to touch the hem of His garment- just to reach out to Him and feel the presence of this man…you start to crawl towards Him.  It is easier on this level, easier to reach Him on your knees.   You set your eyes upon Him and you begin crawling towards Heaven’s Darling…you find yourself holding your breathe…afraid that the hope will spill out of your heart, that it will spill on to the parched land and disappear…like the money that you have spent on all of the physicians that promised they could heal you.

But, you continue to press on, holding your breathe, holding your hope, faith growing in you with each moment that passes as you get closer to Him.  Finally, you reach out your hand- and your fingers grasp the edge of His garment.  He was almost out of reach, He was almost too far away, He was almost gone…but you touched Him….and your heart exploded and walls were shattered and all the laws and the all the  judgments , and the very nature of your condition – were shattered in that moment.

You struggle to catch your breathe…it all feels different.  You feel different.  You know, I mean YOU KNOW that you are healed and that your life has been restored to you.  You stand up straight.  You look the world in the eye, can this really be- after 12 long, dry, desolate, lonely years???

Suddenly- He stops.  HE is searching, He is looking.  He knows what has happened…..that familiar feeling of dread sneaks up on you again…wanting to quench the newly found joy.  Your shoulders sag, your demeanor shifts, you look down.

 ⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” He asks.         

When they all denied it, the one called Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

You are that someone.  He saw you, He felt you and He knew that you had touched Him.  For 12 years you had been a dirty, invisible woman…but, today He saw you and He felt your touch.  He now turns, looking for you…..what will you do?

We are all the bleeding  woman, in some way.  We all have something, some condition, some priorities, some focus, some ailment, something that wants to squash us down.  Something that wants to demand our attention.  Something that needs a constant supply of money, time and focus.

Christ came and died so that we might know abundant life:

John 10:10

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁰ The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).

The enemy tries to steal, kill, crush, destroy our hopes, and our dreams.  He seeks us out so that we might live in a world dominated by shades of grey.  You are not who you were made to be, you are not walking in your destiny, but you are serving in your church and you go to church on Sundays, and you are a good person…you are….you are a Christian…you make some wise choices and some choices that He might not like…you go through the motions, but there is no fire behind it…well, …..you are ……grey.  Just grey.  You seek out the edge of His garment when your situation, simply, becomes intolerable and you feel the bleeding just a bit more.  You hit your knees and you crawl towards Heaven’s Darling and you plead and you pray for the oppression to be lifted….and…it is….for the time being.   

The miracle of faith is an abomination to satan…so he begins to wash over you with the shades of grey again…lulling you to sleep once again.  A sleep that can appear very busy on the outside, but is spiritually grey on the inside…  Satan knows that if he keeps you distracted and he keeps you busy, you will not tap into the joy of abundant living.  He knows that if he can keep you bleeding, he will keep you distracted with your own condition, and your own circumstance.  So he beats you down and he speaks to you of your unworth.  He robs the colors out of your heart with each lie you believe and take into your heart.

Christ came and died so that we could have OVERFLOWING,  abundant life!!  I see that as brilliant color exploding around us…colors that are so beautiful, gems and treasures hidden deep inside us, not even discovered, waiting to BURST into existence.  I see abundant living as joy unbridled and passion released into the world – for HIS purposes.  We were not made to touch the HEM of His garment – as satan would have us believe.  We were made to be children of God- we have a divine inheritance.  He longingly looks towards the road, waiting for our return from the shades of grey that we have lived in.  He waits on the front porch and searches the horizon, waiting for us to embrace the mantle of our inheritance.  He waits to give us His robe, and His signet ring, proclaiming our identity to the heavenlies, casting out our destinies, sealing us with hope and joy and faith….

Don’t settle for the hem of His garment, don't settle for a grey Christian walk.  Give it all to Him.  Have you reached the end of your rope, like the bleeding woman?  Have you looked down at your circumstances long enough?  Look up today and see Him passing you by.  Catch the wave of excitement, join in the angelic hymns that surround Him.  See the colors of hope that explode out of His smile and out of His hands. Leave that condition, circumstance that bleeds you dry behind and trust in Him.  Approach Him on your knees and allow Him to pick you up and restore the rooms of your heart that have laid dormant for so long.  Allow Him to speak to your heart of who you were created to be as a child of God.

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. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Your faith will heal you. Your faith will restore you. Your faith will bring you peace and joy.  Your faith will bring you in the abundant banquet table that the Lord has set for you. His banner over you is love…don’t settle for shades of grey anymore…you were created to be seen and to do great things for the kingdom of God.  Don’t settle for the hem of His garment. “Someone” has touched Him, and that someone is you…He wants to fully restore you with the mantle of His authority.  He promises us that we can move mountains and raise the dead with that mantle of authority.  Don’t settle for the hem, press into Him until He robes you with His authority.  Embrace who you are and who you are called to be in the Kingdom, explode in color today – for His glory!