The story of Jesus healing the bleeding woman has been following me. We discussed it a few weeks ago during a Club/Crew summer hangout. Then, I stumbled upon it again a few days later... and twice more after that. By that point, I realized God wanted me to see something in this scripture that I was clearly overlooking(!)

The woman in this passage had been suffering for 12 years, only to grow worse, with no relief from doctors. Clinging to the final hope that a mere touch of Jesus’ cloak might give her relief, she reached out to Him and was healed. Afterwards, Jesus told her “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Be freed from your suffering. A direct command from Jesus – not only to this woman, but to us as well. What an incredible picture of Jesus’ empathy and POWER. We can reach out to Him with trembling hands and find freedom. This story shows us that our sufferings need not be our own. Jesus will carry them with us, and for us.

By my last unexpected encounter with the passage, another phrase stood out. Before Jesus told her to be free from suffering he said, “Go in peace.” I was jumping straight to freedom from pain, but we cannot undermine the importance of this first command. How often do we truly go in peace? Yes, we may read a devotional or spend time in prayer, but we often then return to never ending to-do lists and worries, leaving peace behind. But here, Jesus tells us to go in peace – offering us freedom to go throughout our day knowing that His peace will follow us.

What would it look like for you today to walk in the peace that Jesus offers? What would it look like to truly believe that Jesus’ peace can infiltrate and cover every aspect of our lives? Despite our own daily noise, we can go confidently into this day, clinging to His never-ending, ever-present peace. And that is something we should not overlook.

God bless you!

Meghan