I am a woman with ISSUES!
My devotion this morning was on Matt 9:20-22. It is a pretty familiar story for most of us who have traveled around God’s Word for any length of time. Today, as I prayed it would, it struck me in a fresh way.
I have typically considered this story from a physical healing perspective and have often referred to this particular event when teaching on FAITH. I have always loved considering what this woman “TOLD HERSELF”.
Today, the word ISSUE got my attention. The truth is, I have got me some “ISSUES”.
I like to think that the new Freedom that I found in Christ 25 years ago wiped all my issues away but really, it has not. Not completely, not yet.
Don’t get me wrong. I am so much “Free-er” (my word) today than I once was but I really believe that God has MORE Freedom for me to enjoy. God always has MORE!
The woman in the story had an “Issue of Blood”. That is not my “Issue”. My issues have to do with people. My issues have to do with self discipline. My issues have to do with keeping FOCUS. My issues have to do with managing my finances. My issues have to do with personal insecurities that continue to challenge me and trip me up.
The Good News in this story (There is ALWAYS GOOD NEWS in God’s Word) is that “Jesus “turned and saw her”.
JESUS TURNED AND SAW HER!!
He stopped what He was doing. He altered His path. He tuned out the crowds. He stopped moving forward. He stopped His next step. He halted His journey. He shifted His gears. He TURNED His head around. He responded. He blessed. He loved. He cared. He praised. He complimented. He spoke kind words. He encouraged. He changed everything!!
THAT, my friend, is the key to FREEDOM…Physical, Mental and Spiritual Freedom!!
JESUS TURNED AND SAW HER!!!
It just blesses my heart today to know that my Jesus, my Saviour, my LORD…has turned His eyes upon me.
How about you….have you got some issues today?
Grab hold of Jesus and SAY TO YOURSELF….”He will make me well!!”
Grab Him! He will turn His head towards you.
He SEES our weaknesses, our hurts, our needs, our fears, our desires…..our ISSUES!! and He Heals them..
Day by Day, Hour by Hour. GLORY!
I have pondered your dream question and have many answers to it. Since I am a sucker for a free cook book, I will answer, but am still debating how brutally honest I should be…hopefully tomorrow will provide the time!
Molly,
I can’t wait to hear your dreams!
Pat
Hi Pat,
I might be too late for entry for the cookbook, but I’m a sucker for freebies, so here is my better-late-than-never entry.
The short version of one of my dreams deals with cooking, so here ya’ go!
I LOVE to cook – always have. I spent my teenage summers working for a New York chef who took me under his wing and gave me cooking lessons. I cooked for my large family from the time I was about 10 years old. So, it was no surprise to anyone that I wanted to go to culinary school. My awesome parents are all about chasing dreams, so they shipped me off to Rhode Island to Johnston & Wales cooking school the summer between my Jr. & Sr. year of high school. I loved the classes, but came to NOT like the life-style of chefs. During that time, God showed me that one of my dreams was to be a wife and mom. I knew that the chef/wife/mom role would be difficult to balance, so I called my daddy and he booked me a flight home! But, I still dreamed of using my passion for cooking SOMEHOW. Days turned to years and babies for my family finally came. All of a sudden, I found myself with four little ones and in the pizza and chicken nugget rut. So, my dream needed a little time and love. But, the dream did not die, and I am back in the kitchen! For 2010, Jeff and I are going to throw dinner parties to help support ministry. For Christmas, Jeff gave me THE POT from the Julie/Julia movie and the smells from my kitchen are better than pizza! So, the dream has been re-defined over the years, but I am excited to see how God is going to use it.
As for the brutally honest part, the longer I spend time with ladies, the more I see that so many dreams have been shattered. Then it sometimes becomes hard to hope anymore that our dreams will come true. I think we quietly wonder that if we don’t dream, then the dream not coming true won’t hurt so badly. So, when I saw your comment about 200 hits, but not a lot of posts, I think this is the reason. Dreams can be hard, and dreams can hurt, and sometimes talking about them can be too much to handle. Giving dreams voice can bring feelings of failure and possibly shame. Or, you feel prideful. Like, if I tell Pat that I dream of being thin and beautiful, she will think I am vain (or the list could go on and on). I could blah-blah about this forever as I feel, as believers in our mighty God that we can’t EVER give up on our dreams (the ones he has planted) and we need to peddle the hope we have been given to anyone who will listen. So keep preaching that dreams can come true and that there is hope for freedom.
Looking forward to your conference info for 2010!
Oh MY! WOW MOLY!!
AWESOME, precious, insightful, passionate. Your dream makes me excited and we definitely need to talk about that dinner party!!
You are IN the contest–plus, we need to set our date!
xoxo Sister!
Pat