Open HandsSample

Reaching out to Jesus

The streets were crowded that day as Jesus made his way through the city of Capernaum. She was sick and she was poor. Her bleeding condition held her captive for twelve years, spending all her money yet never finding a cure. She was an outcast, lonely and with literally no hope apart from a miracle. Maybe that’s what gave her the boldness to push through the crowd that day, to attempt something so audacious: this untouchable bleeding woman reached out to touch the holy Son of God. And one touch was all it took. She was healed. “Daughter, your faith has made you well” (Mark 5:34).

What barriers hinder us from reaching out to Jesus? Do we, like this woman, feel unworthy, unlovable, an outcast, marginalized by society, ostracized by community? Maybe our issues seem too hideous, too egregious or too chronic to share with anyone. Maybe we’ve tried everything else and in our deep pit of disappointment, we can’t muster up the hope to try just one more thing. Whatever your need today, Jesus already knows it. He already knows you and you are not just a face in the crowd. For any child who reaches out to him, he draws them close, embracing our shame and healing our brokenness.

Barriers such as broken relationships and unresolved or unconfessed sin can strain or even break our fellowship with the Father. Are there areas of your life that are broken? Take those to the Lord, he knows, he is waiting.