Pain Serves a Purpose
In the middle of Jesus attending to the daughter of a synagogue ruler, an unnamed woman appears on the scene. We don’t know exactly what her condition was except that it caused her to flow blood continually. For twelve years she had suffered with this ailment. Sometimes God allows us to suffer for lengths of time we would rather not have to experience, but there is always a reason. During these twelve years, this woman would spend all of her money on doctors who could not help. She would have been forced out of society and religious activities. Considered unclean, she would not have been welcomed even by her own family. Can you feel the desperation this woman must have felt? I believe that desperation was the reason God allowed her to be afflicted for twelve years before she would encounter His Son.
The crowd pressed so closely to Jesus that Luke used the Greek word sympnigo to describe it. Our translations say, “the people pressed (some translations say thronged) around him.” (verse 42) However, the Greek word is way more descriptive. It means to choke utterly, to suffocate, or to drown. (Strong’s Bible Dictionary) This was not a place where a woman who was ceremonially unclean was meant to be. In their culture, anyone who touched her would also become unclean. With a crowd this tightly packed, undoubtedly, she could not escape being touched by others. She was desperate. Years of Jewish training and tradition instantly vanished when she saw the opportunity to be healed. Have you ever felt that desperate? It doesn’t come in a moment. It doesn’t come after even a week of trial. This was the desperation of twelve years of longing and frustration. Her money gone, her hope in shreds, this was her last chance at healing.
I am a firm believer that God does not rain down pain and suffering on His children, but He will allow them when the trials benefit His will and our faith. Had this woman never experienced the pain and suffering of her ailment, she would never have experienced her moment with Jesus. Looking at my own life, I understand that all the painful times served a purpose. Ultimately, they drove me to my knees and into the arms of my Savior. They strengthened my faith as time revealed God’s handiwork in the loss and suffering. They led me down a life path which placed me in the company of others who needed comfort and encouragement only someone who had been in their shoes could provide. Pain serves a purpose. We do not suffer in vain. Our God is not cruel. He uses every scrap of our struggles for His glory. At just the right time, He will bring relief. If you are still in the midst of the fight, rejoice that God knows exactly where you are. Walk in faith over the shards of broken expectations, knowing your future shines so much brighter in the hands of God.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
G4846 - sympnigō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4846/kjv/tr/ss0/0-1
Comments