If I Got Jesus: Living for Christ AloneSample

Day 1, Jesus … Even In Sickness

“If I got Jesus, there's a hope that's living deep inside.”

Have you ever felt hopeless? Like you were looking at a problem that could never be solved, or perhaps a loss that could never be filled? Or maybe, you feel that way right now - exhausted from earthly pursuits - just praying that the Lord would show up somehow.

Today, we are diving into Mark 5, the most detailed story of the woman who bled for 12 years. Verse 25-26 says, “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.”

Have you ever felt like things were just growing worse instead of better - regardless of what you tried? You aren’t alone. This woman’s condition wasn’t just inconvenient or uncomfortable - it left her as an outcast to society.

In this time period, someone who was bleeding was considered unclean for that duration of time. Everything that a person touched would also be considered unclean.

This meant that this woman could not go to the temple. She could not feel the hug of a friend. She could not have a husband due to this condition. She could not wash her clothes alongside others. She could not eat meals with other people. She was completely isolated. And no matter what she tried or how much money she invested into getting answers, she never got better.

While you may not have the same condition, perhaps you have chronic pain. Perhaps you live with PoTS or another chronic illness. Perhaps mental illness plagues you and you cannot rid yourself of bipolar disorder, anxiety, or depression. Perhaps you live with MS or another deep pain due to your spine.

In the midst of her deepest struggle, the bleeding woman found hope - in Jesus from Nazareth. She had heard about Jesus and went searching for Him with the belief that touching his cloak would be more than enough to heal her. And touching the cloak would allow her to not render Him, as a whole, unclean. It was a risky challenge if she was caught - but ultimately, she believed that Jesus was enough to heal her: fully.

So, she reached out, and in that instant the bleeding stopped, “She felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering,” (Mark 5:29). Her faith in the power of Jesus was enough.

Ben Fuller sings, “If I got Jesus, there’s a hope that’s living deep inside.” It’s such a reminder that if we have Jesus - hope is still there. Hope is alive.

And as long as Jesus was there, the bleeding woman had hope. Jesus blesses her in a culture that would condemn her uncleanliness for touching cleanliness by saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering,” (Mark 25:34).

The same hope is there for us too. If we have Jesus, we have hope - regardless of what we are facing or what struggle is before us.

As you go out today, take a moment to think about where you have placed your hope.

Is your hope in a job? Money? Good health? Beauty? Children? A spouse?

We all have something; there is no shame in that at all. But, may we fix our eyes on Jesus, our ultimate hope. If we have Him, we have it all.