Following Jesus When You DoubtSýnishorn

Devotion

According to Jewish law, the bleeding woman was unclean (see Leviticus 15:25–28). This meant she had to remain isolated from her community and no one could touch her until she was determined to be clean again. You can imagine that if she had been isolated for twelve years, she hadn’t talked to many people. Who had listened to her in that time? Where did she belong? What community took her in despite her being unclean? It’s reasonable to believe no one.

Historians speculate that her sickness started soon after puberty, which means she had lived most of her adult life in isolation, growing up through adolescence and young adulthood alone. Until Jesus. Jesus saw her and listened to her. The Bible that she “came trembling with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus . . . then she told him the whole story” (Mark 5:33 cev).

Her whole story. How transforming it must have been to be heard—and not just for a minute but for as long as it took to tell her entire story. Then Jesus took things a step further. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (verse 34). By calling her daughter, he was reincorporating her into the community. Jesus healed the woman physically but also emotionally. By listening to her and bringing her back into societal acceptance, he brought her out of isolation and into belonging.

Reflect

1.In this passage, the prophet Isaiah is conveying a prophetic promise from God to his people. Even though they would be scattered by the Babylonian captivity, he would bring them back from exile and redeem them. How does God relate to the Israelites in this passage? What does he call them? How does he describe them?

2.The Lord promises that he will be with his people when they “pass through the waters” and “walk through the fire” (verse 2). What do you think the “waters” and “the fire” represent? What is God saying to his people by making this promise?

3.God tells his people that they are “precious and honored in his sight” (verse 4). What does God say he is willing to do to redeem them from their captors?

4.This promise for the Israelites is also a prophecy for us. Christ will redeem us. He will call us by name. How does it feel to know that God considers you a part of his own family—that you are his son or daughter? How could this give you a sense of belonging?

Pray

Read these words again in Isaiah 43:1–7 and pray through it for your prayer time. Personalize it as if God is speaking directly to you . . . because he is.