Day 24: A Peace Amidst the Chaos (Mark 5:21-34)
Devotional: There’s a story of a woman who telephoned a friend and asked how she was feeling. “Terrible,” came the reply, “my head’s splitting and my back and legs are killing me. The house is a mess, and the kids are simply driving me crazy.” Very sympathetically the caller said, “Listen, go and lie down, I’ll come over right away and cook lunch for you, clean up the house, and take care of the children while you get some rest. By the way, how is Sam?”
“Sam?” the tired housewife gasped. “Who is Sam?” “My heavens,” exclaimed the first woman, “I must have dialed the wrong number.” There was a long pause. The exhausted mother then asked hopefully, “Are you still coming over?” If you’re a mom, you know what it’s like to just want some peace and quiet from time to time. And you’re as desperate as that woman to find it.
Susan Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) was the mother of 19 children. As you can imagine, finding peace and quiet was no easy task. Among the noise of activity of her many children, Susanna’s trick was to pull her apron over her head- signaling to them and anyone else around that she was spending time alone with God in prayer. That was her attempt to find a little peace amidst the chaos of life.
It’s not just moms, we all yearn for peace in a world filled with trials and tribulations. Ever since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, there has been sin and suffering all around us. And one of the results of rebellion in the Garden, are bodies that have been affected by the curse of sin. Paul put it this way in Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole of creation has been groaning together”. But here’s the great news: Jesus came to reverse the curse!
It won’t happen fully until Jesus returns again and His eternal kingdom is established. But Jesus still brings healing to people’s lives until then. That’s what the woman understood in today’s passage. He could heal her disease and bring the peace that had alluding her, her entire life. She thought, “If only I could touch Him, His healing power would touch me”. And she was right. Jesus healed her of her disease. But more importantly, He brought peace into her life.
Sometimes we think that our situation has to change for peace to be experienced in our lives. Perhaps there’s some significance to the order in which Jesus said what He said. In verse 34, Jesus said to the woman, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease”. Notice the order? Faith, first, which leads to peace, which leads to healing coming into her life.
Do we have faith that God can give us peace, no matter our circumstances? That peace is not the result of perfect circumstances but of faith in a perfect God? Reach out to Jesus and He will touch you and give you the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). And when we get to that place in our lives, our hearts will experience healing.
Prayer: What “healing” does your heart need today? Take time to pray about it. How about the people in your life? Take time praying for them as well.
Devotional: There’s a story of a woman who telephoned a friend and asked how she was feeling. “Terrible,” came the reply, “my head’s splitting and my back and legs are killing me. The house is a mess, and the kids are simply driving me crazy.” Very sympathetically the caller said, “Listen, go and lie down, I’ll come over right away and cook lunch for you, clean up the house, and take care of the children while you get some rest. By the way, how is Sam?”
“Sam?” the tired housewife gasped. “Who is Sam?” “My heavens,” exclaimed the first woman, “I must have dialed the wrong number.” There was a long pause. The exhausted mother then asked hopefully, “Are you still coming over?” If you’re a mom, you know what it’s like to just want some peace and quiet from time to time. And you’re as desperate as that woman to find it.
Susan Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) was the mother of 19 children. As you can imagine, finding peace and quiet was no easy task. Among the noise of activity of her many children, Susanna’s trick was to pull her apron over her head- signaling to them and anyone else around that she was spending time alone with God in prayer. That was her attempt to find a little peace amidst the chaos of life.
It’s not just moms, we all yearn for peace in a world filled with trials and tribulations. Ever since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, there has been sin and suffering all around us. And one of the results of rebellion in the Garden, are bodies that have been affected by the curse of sin. Paul put it this way in Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole of creation has been groaning together”. But here’s the great news: Jesus came to reverse the curse!
It won’t happen fully until Jesus returns again and His eternal kingdom is established. But Jesus still brings healing to people’s lives until then. That’s what the woman understood in today’s passage. He could heal her disease and bring the peace that had alluding her, her entire life. She thought, “If only I could touch Him, His healing power would touch me”. And she was right. Jesus healed her of her disease. But more importantly, He brought peace into her life.
Sometimes we think that our situation has to change for peace to be experienced in our lives. Perhaps there’s some significance to the order in which Jesus said what He said. In verse 34, Jesus said to the woman, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease”. Notice the order? Faith, first, which leads to peace, which leads to healing coming into her life.
Do we have faith that God can give us peace, no matter our circumstances? That peace is not the result of perfect circumstances but of faith in a perfect God? Reach out to Jesus and He will touch you and give you the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). And when we get to that place in our lives, our hearts will experience healing.
Prayer: What “healing” does your heart need today? Take time to pray about it. How about the people in your life? Take time praying for them as well.
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