I shared this during worship in church this morning and though it would be appropriate to share the thought here, too.
Matthew 9:18 records the account of Jesus when he was ministering to the people. A "ruler" came to Jesus and requested that Jesus come lay His hand on the ruler's deceased daughter so that she could live again. The ruler came wanting a touch from Jesus.
In the same account, there was a woman. Scripture tells us that she had had a blood disorder for 12 years and had spent all of her money on doctors who could not help her. Her thought was that, "If I only touch His garment, I will be made well." Matthew 9:20. She wanted to touch Jesus.
To fully understand the story, we need to understand some of the background. This woman, by right, should not have been out in public. She was considered "unclean" by Jewish law. Anyone she came in contact with would also be declared unclean. She was "unworthy" to be among people. She should have locked herself away, separating herself from all human contact. But she didn't. Rather,her faith told her that if she could just get to Jesus and just touch the fringe of His garment (Matthew 9:20) she would be made well.
What meaning is in this for us? There are times when we need a touch from Jesus. We need Him to reach out and deliver a miracle with His touch. There are, however, also times when it is not Him touching us that we need, but rather, us touching Him. We need to reach out to Him, touch Him, and receive our miracle.
We may, at times, feel "unworthy". After all, we know what we did last month, last week, last night. We know how wretched we are. We know how unworthy we are. We should remain locked away, separated from Him. We feel like we need to make ourselves "clean" before we can come to Him.
NOT TRUE!! This story is a perfect example. This woman, in order to touch the fringe (hem in some translations) she had to crawl...on hands and knees...through the crowd that had gathered around Jesus. She crawled, not only through the physical obstacles, but also the social stigmas that were attached to her condition. But she pressed through and touched Jesus.
As soon as she did so, the Scripture tells us that Jesus felt "that power had gone out from Him" (same story except in Mark's account in Mark 5:30) and he asked, "Who touched me?" (Mark 5:30) Upon finding the little old woman who touched Him, He graciously declared her healed. Matthew 9:22 and Mark 5:34.
Worship offers us the perfect opportunity to reach out and touch Jesus. Are we "worthy"? Not on our own merit. But we can crawl through our own preconceived notions, our own despair, our own depression, our own sickness, even our own sin, reach out and touch Him in worship. When we do...when we reach out and touch Him, that could be the moment when He looks at us and says, "Who touched me? Was it you? Your faith has made you well. Be free. Be healed. Be forgiven. Be........"
Wow! Do you need something from God? Are you in need of a miracle...physical, spiritual, financial, mental? Do you find yourself separated from God? Are there things standing between you and Him? Friends? Family? Acquaintances? Traditions? Rules? Regulations? Self'doubt? A feeling of "unworthiness"? Anything?
I encourage you to press through. Press through the situations and circumstances, reach out and touch Him. Find a way to worship Him. Sing a song. Speak some words. Any words from you heart will work. It's your faith that does the work. Quality of speech is not important. You need not be an eloquent orator to touch Him. Just reach out in your own way. Reach out in worship. Touch Him and let Him touch you!
