A Certain woman with the Public ‘Issue’ – A story of Love and Restoration

I was reading the story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark’s Gospel when a couple of things (make that a lot of things lol) jumped out at me.

For those who don’t know the story, let me give you a brief synopsis. Here was a woman who had blood gushing out of her for 12 long years. The Bible says that this woman ‘Had suffered many things from many physicians’, and that ‘She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.’ Now picture this woman broke, busted and disgusted and STILL not well! Jeez!! That ought to have hurt her a whole lot yea?

Anyway so this woman heard that Jesus was in town; had probably heard that He healed all sorts of people, kicked out all sorts of demons and probably figured that she’d just try Him out and see. After all, she’d lost ‘everything’ she had on ‘trying’ to get better so technically she had nothing to lose. To cut a long story short, this woman (who remained nameless to the very end), received her healing from Jesus by touching the hem of His garment.




Is that the end of the story? Nope! At least not for me; and that’s why I’d like to share the lessons I learned with y’all.

First of all notice that this woman had blood ‘flowing’ out of her for 12 years…not 12 weeks…or 12 days, but 12 years! Yikes!!! Most women menstruate for anything between 3-7 days and trust me it’s not a comfortable phase to be in – think PMS, nausea bloating etc!! So imagine how this woman must have felt to have been literally menstruating everyday, every week, every month for 12 whole years. That’s not all! In those days, women who were menstruating were considered ‘unclean’ and were forbidden to go to the temple, pray, or sometimes even touch anyone during their periods. So imagine how isolated and alone this woman must have been for the 12years that this ‘flow’ plagued her.

The King James Version of the Bible says that this woman had an ‘issue’ of blood. Now am sure that most women can relate to having issues, never mind that we sometimes try to hide them under tons of expensive makeup, Brazilian weaves and designer clothes…did I hear you say ouch! Lol. But unlike most of us, this woman had a private issue that was ‘very public’ and I think that fact alone must have made it 10 times worse for her ! I can imagine people turning up their sanctimonious noses at her and whispering hateful comments like ‘Na she know wetin she do o!’ sound familiar?

So here are some lessons that I think we can all learn from this woman:
Faith – This woman had never encountered Jesus before, but she said to herself ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’ She had purposed in her heart already, and didn’t care what people may have said. People may call this madness, I call it blind faith! Sometimes in life when you have a dream or vision, just follow it! Tune out whatever people ‘think’ is logical and take that leap of faith. Secondly open up your heart to be sensitive to the Spirit. This woman had dealt with a lot of charlatans in the past, but intuitively (or through the prodding of the Holy Spirit); knew that Jesus Christ was the Genuine Article

Seize the Day (or moment) – Please note that Jesus was going to heal Jarius’s daughter who was on the brink of death, He didn’t know this woman, had never met her, and would probably have never stopped…if she didn’t reach out and touch Him. Persistence pays! You must learn to seize the moment. I can imagine this woman crawling like a dog through the crowd, making her way towards where Jesus stood, silently chanting this mantra to herself ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’ She didn’t care that she was a woman, and wasn’t supposed to be touching anyone, talk more of a prophet, she didn’t care that He may have ridiculed her; she kept on anyway. She looked opportunity in the eye and grabbed it with both hands, and see how she was rewarded? ‘The ‘fountain of her blood was dried up.’ Doggedness and relentlessness pay off in the long run. If you’ve got a dream, keep at it and it will materialize in due time

Gratitude – Perhaps this woman may have slunk away after receiving her miracle, she may have escaped the same way she came…until Jesus said ‘Who touched my clothes?’ Even then she could still have kept silent because Jesus was in the middle of the crowd and technically EVERYONE was touching Him. But this woman even though ‘She was afraid and trembling; she knelt before Jesus and told Him the whole truth.’ Sounds easy huh? Not exactly!

Even though He doesn’t require it, our gratitude and honesty pleases God. Notice that Jesus said ‘Daughter your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’ This nameless woman did not only receive healing, but was immediately transformed from being an ordinary person into a ‘daughter.’ A woman who didn’t have an identity, and probably lacked self confidence, now had everything restored back to her. All the years of ridicule, sickness and shame must have fallen from her shoulders, because now she knew in the deepest recesses of her mind that she wasn’t just a woman, but she was now also a ‘Daughter of the Christ.’ The Father’s Love restores and replenishes.

So that’s it peeps! I hope this story blesses you like it blessed me! Selah!

P.S: Is it significant that the woman had been afflicted with the ‘issue’ of blood for 12 years? 12 is the number of completion, and help came her way in the 12th year. Coincidence? Hmm…. I think not! 