Reach Out

When was the last time you reached out to someone just to see how they were doing? When was the last time you called or visited someone just to check in with them? When was the last time you gave someone a card or handwritten letter just to let them know you were thinking about them? If we would all be honest, we don't reach out as often and much as we should. In Mark 5:25-34, there was a woman who reached out to Jesus and her life was never the same. In these particular Bible verses, there was a crowd of people surrounding Jesus. Now, this was not new or unusual as many times Jesus had lots of people around Him. On this particular day, however, there was a woman in the crowd who had been dealing with an issue for 12 years. She needed help. She had went to every doctor in town and spent all her money, but nothing helped. In fact, her blood condition had not gotten better, but worse. Yes, there was a crowd, but the woman decided to press her way to Jesus anyhow. She had tried everything else. Nothing else had worked. She thought if I can just get to Jesus and touch the edge of his clothes, I can be made well. So, she pressed her way to Jesus and was able to do just that! When she did, she was immediately healed! Just like the woman with the issue of blood, we too have issues. Our issues may be finances, relationships, in our family, at our school, health, etc. Some of our issues have lasted longer than others, while others have been for a shorter period of time. No matter what the issue is or how long we've had it, Jesus wants us to reach out to Him, so we can be healed. We can reach out to Him anywhere at anytime about anything. He cares! Whatever we need today, we can reach out to Him for it. We can reach out for healing- physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Jesus will heal us of disappointments, heartaches, and broken relationships. We can reach out to Him for encouragement and guidance because His promises and Word is true. We can reach out to Him for peace, love, strength, endurance, hope, joy, and rest. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Jesus wants us to come to Him about anything and everything. There is no issue too big or too small that Jesus doesn't care about. You don't have to accept that it's not going to get better. Jesus invites us to reach out to Him because He knows we can't get better on our own. We need Him! All we have to do is pray and seek Him out. Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near." If the woman with the issue of blood had told herself not to reach out for Jesus because of the crowd, she would have never been healed. We too can't let the "crowd" keep us from reaching out to Jesus for what we need. Once we reach out to Him, we will never be the same! As we continue to reach out to Jesus daily, let's reach out to others. Let's reach out with kindness, encouragement, love, forgiveness, and help daily. In reaching out to Jesus and others, let's be intentional and invite others to do the same.