Mark 5:34

AMP – Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering.”

NRSVUE – He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your your disease.”

VOICE – Jesus listened to her story. JESUS: “Daughter, you are well because you dared to believe. Go in peace, and stay well.

Cleaned of All Conditions

There’s significance with Jesus addressing the woman as “Daughter.” Women in this culture had a lower social status. Jesus acknowledges her faith, and restores her dignity and identity. In the biblical context, faith is shown as a key component to receive God’s blessings and miracles. There are different places in the Gospels where it’s shown that faith is a prerequisite for healing. Overall, this reveals to us that faith is not just about intellect, but trusting and relying on Jesus’ power and authority.

After receiving her healing, the woman was told to “Go in peace.” The woman is no longer in physical suffering, but also finds restoration of wholeness and well-being. Peace is about completeness, safety, and welfare. A blessing of peace is just a preview of the eternal peace that Jesus brings. She received a complete and permanent healing. This conditions lasted for twelve years, is now fully resolved. She has received a physical, social, and spiritual healing. Her conditional would have made her unclean according to Levitical law, but Jesus restored her ability to participate in community and worship.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: The healing that Jesus gave brought the woman back into society on equal footing with all people. Have you ever been excluded because of something you’re dealing with? How did that make you feel?

Pain that Leads to God’s Path

The healing brings complete freedom, not just temporary relief. Out faith should be visible and bold. This makes me recognize how our past can curse our present. Sometimes our history creates an identity for us that we cannot shake. I saw this after my sextortion incident. I was highly respected in my profession prior to that, leading our Youth and Children’s ministry out of the pandemic shortfalls and been re-building our system for long-term success. After it happened, and I reported the incident voluntarily, I was viewed as a pedophile, unstable, and not able to do my job without intense supervision and strict guidelines. The six years of work and respect I earned over there was gone in a minute. I tried my hardest to rebuild my reputation over the four months of work after I came back from leave, but I was eventually terminated.

When I was let go and when I was on leave, I had to do some soul searching. I recognized that my lapse in judgment was hurtful. I was deceived. I was violated. I had blame in the situation. I made a wrong decision. It created hurt and chaos, but I found healing at the end of it all. I found peace. Yes, I was hurt. Yes, I was frustrated. However, I was okay with that door being closed. I learned a lot about sexual immorality, sexuality, and sexual activities, as well as morals and ethics of it all. There were a lot of people that were angry for me, more angry than I ever than I was. I understood their perspective, but I also encouraged them to use their energy for something greater. Energy like that needed to be able to put towards something greater. I do not want to use my rough situation to be left with negative energy. Much like the woman’s disease, there’s freedom and restoration found in my situation. There was a working plan that God had for me in the middle of it all, and it led me to be where I am. Would I have like to seen a different path? Absolutely. However – God saw this path for me, and used it for the greatest good available.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: When was there a time that you have had to see your pain turn into God’s path towards perfection?