Courageous Faith

Text: Mark 5:25-34 ESV

Courageous Faith in Desperation (Vv25-27)

25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.

There are a few things that can happen in a very desperate and painful situation. We may quit. We may adapt to the pain and learn to live with it. We may become sluggish or complacent in that pain. Sometimes we are pushed into a corner. Sometimes we allow the dragon of desperation to swallow us alive.

But it wasn’t so with this courageous woman. She had been in pain for twelve years. That’s unbelievable. She spent all her money on doctors, yet things only became worse. Can you imagine trying everything you can to escape a problem, only to find yourself in an even worse situation? That is a very real reason to quit when desperation hits.

This is so human. People often fall from a small pitfall into an even bigger one. It becomes the perfect setting for the dragon of pain and disappointment to swallow them up.

Game over.

The dragon wins

In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the dragon Smaug had already won for many years. The people of the mountain once had a great kingdom, but Smaug came, destroyed everything, and sat on the treasure. For years, no one dared to challenge him. The dragon looked unbeatable. Fear ruled the land.

That’s what desperation can feel like.

The dragon sits on your life and whispers:

• “You tried already.”

• “Nothing will change.”

• “Just live with the pain.”

Just like Smaug sleeping on the treasure, pain can sit on the promises of God in our lives.

But the story doesn’t end there.

One day, a man named Bard the Bowman stood up. He sees a weak spot in the dragon. With one arrow, he strikes Smaug, and the dragon that ruled in terror for years falls from the sky.

The dragon looked unbeatable.

The dragon looked permanent.

But in the end, the dragon fell.

And that’s the good news of the gospel:

Pain may roar for a season. Desperation may breathe fire for years. But dragons do not get the final word; God’s power does.

Courageous Faith in Action (Vv 28-32)

28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it.

In the next part of the passage, we see that the woman was so confident that she believed she would be healed if she only touched Jesus' garment. Now, this garment was not the “black arrow.” Rather, it was the power of God fully manifested in the incarnate Jesus, who is fully God and fully man. The power was not literally in the cloth, but it could be transmitted through Jesus’ garment because of her faith in action. We need that same posture today. Defeating the dragon requires courage and faith in action. If you allow the dragon to rule over your life, it will destroy you.

Also, in this story, the woman lived in a Jewish setting. This meant that because of her issue of bleeding, she was automatically considered unclean. Can you imagine how painful those cultural norms were? She could not go out publicly because she was regarded as unclean. No wonder she had to quietly sneak through the crowd and touch Jesus’ garment, unnoticed by society. Sometimes you will have to fight for your breakthrough. No one may come to help you.

Praise God that we have the body of Christ, a community that understands the deep struggles of humanity. It is a compassionate community that longs for the good of others. We must make sure that when someone is suffering, we stand with them with a pure and loving heart.

Courageous Faith Rewarded (Vv 33-34)

33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Now we see in the next part of the story that when this woman pushed through the crowd and secretly touched Jesus, she was healed instantly. After receiving her healing, she finally came forward and testified, “It was me.” She fell at the feet of Jesus, worshiped Him, thanked Him, and told the whole truth. And what did Jesus say to her? “Your faith has made you well.”

This shows us something powerful: every one of us has an arrow to defeat the dragon in our lives. We all have an arrow that can destroy the dragon of fear, pain, and desperation.

That arrow is our COURAGEOUS FAITH!