Last Saturday was a beautiful day outside, but I was graced by the beauty of all the ladies dressed in pink at the Women of Wisdom Conference. The real beauty was found in their gracious and kind hearts! To hear their testimonies of God’s transforming power made my message “Broken but Healed” come alive!

My talk centered around two “broken but healed” encounters with Jesus in Luke chapter 8: Jarius and the woman with the “issue of blood.” I’ll give you a quick snapshot. Jarius was a synagogue ruler whose 12 year old daughter was dead. He risked his reputation to invite Jesus to come to his home to heal her. The woman with the “issue of blood” had been bleeding and labeled “unclean” for 12 years. Most likely, she was not touched during this time because
whatever she touched would also be labeled “unclean.” (I have a 12 year old daughter and I can’t image her not being touched for 12 years!) Out of desperation, the bleeding woman reached out to touch Jesus and was immediately healed.

Jarius simply took Jesus at his word with patience as they headed back to his home, and Jesus stopped “on the way” to speak to the bleeding woman. The woman who had touched Jesus was now healed; she “could not go unnoticed” because of what Jesus had done in her life. Through faith and patience, Jarius’ daughter was up and eating after her encounter with Jesus.

Both Jarius and the woman were broken, and yet had the humility and courage to reach out to Jesus. In their desperation, by faith what they believed was demonstrated by their actions.

We all have had suffering in our lives to the point of being broken and about to give up on  life. The bottom line is that we are all broken and hurting due to the repercussions of sin from Adam and Eve.  We are broken from the relationship we were designed for with God. But God alone provided the Remedy! By God’s grace, we are not left alone in our brokenness. God sent Jesus so we could know what He is like, and be restored in our relationship with full access to God. The only true healing can come through faith in Jesus Christ.

I don’t know the trials you face in this life, but I do believe God allows the trials in our lives to draw us to himself. If I may, I’d like to tweak your perspective a little and call these trials “gifts in disguise.” Can you image a world without pain? We’d rarely see a need for God nor pray and see his answers. Our trials do tend to break us of our independence from God. We get to the same point that Jarius and the bleeding woman got to: desperate for help and a realization that Jesus is the only answer.

With a touch from Jesus you can find hope, healing and be remade today. I was privileged to hear the precious stories of some of the young girls from the conference. Much of their pain was due to the consequences of other people’s bad choices that impacted their lives. But God is bigger than the mess we create and is sovereign over our mistakes. What amazing grace!

The whole heart and purpose of the ministry Women of Wisdom is to bring Christian women together in community. The ministry has built a home called The House of Refuge to help ladies get a new start in life who have battled to overcome brokenness in their lives. These young girls are living proof – God keeps his promises and “He sent forth his Word (Jesus) and healed us”!
(Psalm 107:5)