"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." Mark 5:25-29 NIV

Twelve long years this woman suffered. She spent all her money seeking help, but the doctors failed her. She had nothing left. Her money was gone. Her health was gone. And this culture, her bleeding would have labeled her "unclean." She was probably a social outcast. There was no hope left for her.

Then she heard about Jesus' healing power. He was her last resort. She was desperate for healing--desperate enough to quietly creep up behind him and touch his cloak, hoping that his power could be tapped in that way. She wasn't courageous enough to ask him face to face. Maybe she felt unworthy.

But Jesus knew her worth. It wasn't his clothing that healed her. It wasn't her desperate hope, either. "He said to her, ' Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.'" It was her faith in him that made the difference.

Sometimes it seems we've carried our burdens for so long that there simply aren't any options left. We've tried everything we know to do, and nothing's worked. The scars and the pain linger until we begin to wonder if we even deserve to be healed. But Jesus is waiting with loving patience for us to simpoly reach out to him. He wants to bless us with the same benediction: "Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."