Never Alone: A Six-Day Study By Tiffany BluhmSmakprov

A few years ago I took my younger son for a checkup, and my older son, who was with us, asked the doctor to check his eyes and ears too. To our surprise, the doctor discovered my older son had blown his eardrum so severely that he would need reconstructive surgery or risk losing full hearing in that ear. I felt awful for my little one! With a price tag of $8,000 and hearing loss on the line, I was overwhelmed. In that moment I could not handle what life had thrown my way.

We’ve all felt that way at one time or another. The women in today’s Scriptures could not handle what life had thrown their way either. It was beyond their ability to heal themselves—or a loved one—of what the enemy had done to their souls and bodies. But it was not beyond Jesus’ ability! Jesus did not abandon a woman who was tormented by evil spirits and infirmities. He healed her.

Though we don’t know the details of Mary Magdalene’s miraculous healing, I imagine that when Jesus cast out the demons that tormented her, she had no doubts about the power of God made plain in Jesus. He had the grace and power to set her free, and her life was radically changed!

Even through great tribulation and tragedy Mary Magdalene’s devotion never wavered. When Jesus was crucified, Mary Magdalene wept at the foot of the cross, and she was the first person to witness His resurrection when she went to anoint His body in the tomb. With her own eyes, Mary Magdalene saw her resurrected Lord. She was intimately familiar with Jesus’ power to heal and bring new life when it seemed all hope was lost.

Mary Magdalene—no doubt disheveled and distressed when she first encountered Jesus—wasn’t disqualified from love and redemption because of her affliction. God’s love on display through Jesus didn’t condemn or shame her but set her free. He did what only He could do: restore to her the life and hope she had lost. Jesus was her Rescuer, her Healer, and her Redeemer.

Friend, don’t let thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, guilt, shame, condemnation, insufficiency, insecurity, fear, doubt, or rejection keep you from the abundant life God has for you. God loves you and wants to rescue you—even when it appears all hope is gone!