“But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.’” Mark 5:33-34
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with change. We pray, asking God to make only the changes we desire. Desperate faith, however, relinquishes control to the Lord. The sick woman in Mark 5 went to Jesus, trusting Him to change her health. But as she bowed in reverence at His feet, she discovered that faith changes everything.
Faith changes our perspective. This woman lived in isolation because her disease made her ceremonially unclean. So, she snuck up to touch Jesus quietly, not wanting to be noticed. The first thing He did, however, was to identify her publicly. She suddenly went from being an anonymous onlooker to the one everyone was looking at. The woman who “heard about Jesus” (v 27), now had a personal testimony of her own to give. You may have come to Jesus secretly, but He desires for you to confess Him publicly.
Faith changes our nature. A lot of people in that crowd touched Jesus. Yet, this woman was the only one healed because she touched Him in faith. By affirming her faith, Jesus drew attention from the physical healing to the spiritual. She now shared in the nature of Christ. Not only was this inward change unexpected, it was actually her greater need. You may ask the Lord to change aspects of daily life, but your greatest needs are spiritual.
Faith changes our identity. For twelve years this woman was known by her sickness. Then Jesus gave her a new identity. From now on she would be known by her faith and by her relationship to the Lord as, “Daughter…” This change in her name is the result of the change in her nature. She went from what she was known for, to Whom she was known by. You may come to God as an outcast, but through faith you become His child.
Are you afraid of what you can’t control? Remember, desperate faith relinquishes control to the One who knows our greatest needs. This desperate woman, “came and fell down before Him…” in faith. And the changes she experienced were far greater than anything she could have imagined. Yes, faith changes everything!