by Kong Hee - www.konghee.com

For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes,
I shall be made well.” Mark 5:28

One time, as Jesus was moving through a huge crowd, there was a certain woman who had been sick for 12 years with a hemorrhage. She had many bad encounters with doctors who could not give her a cure for her disease. She was not getting any better; in fact, she was getting worse. By now, her huge medical bills were pushing her toward bankruptcy.

Then one day, somebody told her about the wonderful miracles Jesus did. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). The Greek word for “hearing” is in the present continuous tense. That means you need to hear God’s Word spoken to you again and again. That is also the reason why listening to good, faith-building sermons is so important. You can hear them in church, from an audiotape, through a radio or television broadcast, through the Internet, or simply by reading the Bible aloud to yourself.

So this woman heard about Jesus. She then started saying to herself, “I can be healed. If I could only touch His clothes, I know I can be made whole.” Again in the Greek text, it indicates that she rehearsed and confessed this to herself again and again. Faith is speaking out—again and again. Jesus says, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23).

Then this woman acted out what she believed. She came behind Jesus in the crowd and actually touched His garment. Immediately, power left Jesus and healed her of her affliction. Jesus felt the outflow, she felt the inflow.

Jesus commended the woman for her faith (Mark 5:34). What was her faith? She heard. She spoke. She acted. This woman didn’t just trust God passively. She translated her faith into positive, physical action.

Don’t be a passive Christian. Decide to hear God’s Word daily. Speak and confess them aloud to yourself. Then act out whatever the Word says. God moves when you move—in a faith that is active.