Recently I heard a sermon by my pastor, called "A Days Work". He pointed out in Matthew chapter 9 all the miracles Jesus performed in one day! Wow Jesus! He was an overachiever! The two stories that kept resounding with me were the ones about Jairus' daughter and the woman who was bleeding for 12 years. I heard another sermon in the same week about these two miracles. It was pointed out that there were connections between these miracles. The year the 12-year-old girl was born happened to be the same year this woman who was bleeding contracted her illness. Coincidence? Nothing is a coincidence with God!
The combination of these two stories and the fact that I had heard them within the same week of each other got me thinking about my 12-year-old daughter who was born on the same year that it seemed my whole life was turned upside down. It was the year Jesus came closer and tore off every bandaid I had ever put on. He allowed my wounds to bleed and hurt. He allowed me to be humbled and He taught me to embrace the season I was in. This year for me marked the 12th anniversary of that year.
This year my husband took a job 3000 miles away from home that was supposed to last 6-8 months and we were not going with him. 12 years ago he and I separated because our marriage was broken. I know PTSD is a real and serious thing for men and women who have served in our country and I do not mean to lessen the severity of that. Jesus began taking some bandaids off a few wounds I thought had healed. Jesus is truly the surgeon of all surgeons because He sees our deepest needs and trauma.
In John chapter 4 when the woman at the well went to fill her buckets with water, she met Jesus. What she did not realize was that in an effort to get her physical needs met, despite her shame, Jesus met her where she was at and brought truth to her situation. He took her bandaids off. He let her fetch her physical need and in the midst of it, he met her with her spiritual need. Jesus is the ultimate multitasker. He allows us to go to our manmade wells to get the things we need, but it is there where we are met with something more than we bargained for. It is there we are met with an experience with Jesus that will last forever. The woman who was bleeding and the man who wanted his daughter healed were both seeking their physical needs to be met. Jesus met them there and gave them even more than what they asked for.
This is an idea that brings so much comfort to my soul. As I reach for my tangible needs in life, I am constantly met with my spiritual ones. It is where I meet Jesus every time. My physical need for my husband to be with me always brings me to a place where I see my greater spiritual need to be filled by Jesus every time.
Here are the two sermons I referenced above. Be encouraged!
https://madeforfellowship.com/sermons/a-days-work/
https://elevationchurch.org/sermons/get-out/
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