Looking for You

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. (Mk 5:32)

A crowd pressed tightly around the Lord Jesus. In that jostling crowd was a woman who had suffered for twelve years, likely bouncing from physician to physician and spending all her money in the process. Yet despite all she had been through, she believed she could still be healed if she could just touch Jesus’ cloak. And according to her faith, she received.

She got what she came for, and she was ready to leave without a word.

Jesus could have let her go. He had someplace to be and people waiting for Him. But He took the time—made the time—to ask who touched His clothing. Picture our Lord Jesus stopping in His tracks to search among a sea of faces for a glimpse of her.

He wanted to know her and wanted her to know Him.

In the three recordings of this event in the Gospels, she comes to Jesus as a nameless woman but leaves as His “daughter.” She came forward, trembling, to spill the entire story before Him, but she left with His kind words wishing her peace and good cheer. How she must have treasured those words of blessing. How reassuring His words must have been, even when recalled years later!

Today, we bring many of our needs and requests before our Lord. When we feel the stakes are high, we pray with conviction, knowing that He is our only hope. Being tender-hearted, He often answers with His mercy. But though He may give us the blessings, healing, and answers that we seek, He desires more.

He wants to have a relationship with us. So even when we don’t approach Him first, He often waits for us, just as He did for the woman, providing us with opportunities to understand Him more. Although our almighty God knows everything before we speak, He still wants us to tell Him all the things on our mind, pour out our sorrows, and share how our day is going.

Why?

He wants to know you and to be known by you.

Questions for Reflection:

Do you receive what you need and then quietly disappear into the crowd?

Besides making requests, have you taken the time today to just talk with God?