The woman with the issue of blood is a powerful women's Bible study about Jesus' divine powers at work in one woman's life (see Luke 8:42-48). A few years back, I went to my first football game live and it reminded me of how this woman demonstrated simple faith in action.
A friend of ours gave us free tickets to a college football game in which her son was playing. This young man is a linebacker on his team. His job is to pursue the man with the ball on the other team.
Although the opponent would try to outmaneuver him, our young man did not stop pursuing until he got his prey.
His pursuit illustrated an important point for me:
"Pursuit is proof of desire."
If you want something badly enough, you will pursue it.
Even if your pursuit takes you longer than you thought, your desire will drive you on.
You will not stop pursuing until you get what you want.
The woman with the continual bleeding in the Bible had a serious medical condition. But she pursued her healing in simple faith.
Because she did not give up, she got it. She knew about the power of pursuit.
Her story is told in Matthew 9:20–22, Mark 5:25–34, and Luke 8:43-48. This woman experienced a discharge of blood for 12 years.
Here are some things we can learn from her story of perfect faith and how she got the healing that she was pursuing:
1. She recognized that she had issues.
The woman accepted that a continuous blood issue from her body was not normal.
She faced the reality of her losses, not downplaying them.
She not only had health issues from the blood loss but financial issues. Luke's gospel says that the woman had spent all of her money on physicians to heal her.
But instead of getting better, her problem got worse.
Lastly, the woman had relationship issues.
Because of her continual bleeding, she was considered unclean according to Levitical law, which meant isolation from others.
We can agree she was experiencing bad times!
2. She was ready and willing to change.
This woman was unwilling to stay a bloody mess.
Other women in that time may have had similar chronic conditions too. However, they likely had settled in their bloody mess.
But not this woman.
She decided that she did not want her life to be about her bloody mess. She demonstrated the virtue of faith – enough to take action.
3. She believed that change was possible for her.
Rather than self-pity and saying, "I guess I am just meant to be this way," the woman saw a better future for herself.
She saw a true image herself healthy, healed, and whole with Jesus' intervention.
4. She recognized her solution.
The woman had heard about Jesus' ability to heal. By the virtue of faith, she believed that Jesus had what she needed and was determined to pursue Him.
5. She had to overcome obstacles to reach her solution.
In the book of Luke, we are told that the woman had to press through a crowd to get to Jesus (see Luke 8:43-44). That was not easy.
However, rather than letting the crowd discourage her and deciding to go back home in defeat, the woman decided to stay in the pursuit.
I once saw a bicyclist saying on a T-shirt that I love. To me, it illustrates what must have been this woman's mindset:
“It is a hill. Get over it.”
6. She spoke to herself to encourage herself.
But she did not use that as an excuse to give up:
“For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well (Mark 5:28, New King James Version).'”
7. She received her healing in faith.
The woman could have gotten close to Jesus, but that would not have mattered unless she reached out and touched Him.
When she touched Him, the power and healing virtue within Him flowed to her. The bleeding stops, the issue of blood stanched (see Luke 8:47).
In order to touch Jesus and receive His power and virtue to help you overcome the challenges of your life, you cannot have a long-distance or superficial relationship with Him.
You have to expose your heart to Him, getting intimate enough to touch Him.
But you can't touch Him unless you pursue Him first.
What do you desire in life?
It is not enough to talk about it, dream about it, wish about it, hope about it, or even plan it.
For that desire to be yours, you must pursue it:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)."
Asking, seeking, knocking, and prayer are all forms of pursuit.
Know this: Your better future wants you to catch it. But it is not going to be caught easily.
Even the Promised Land that God promised His people had enemies to overcome and wild beasts to deal with. After overcoming, the people could then occupy.
When you overcome challenges to get a prize, you appreciate it more. You will then cherish it enough to hold on to it.
What are you waiting for? Gear up and get going.
Pursue!